I want an above-average starting PG. To me Smart isn’t it. He’s something good and he impacts winning but he’s not your quarterback. We need a quarterback.
There’s also an emotional problem with this team. I don’t see the grit, nor the swagger, nor the chemistry that the best teams have. Sometimes all it takes is one player to set that tone: KG, peak Lebron, Draymond, CP3, etc. Guys who are both very very good as players (that matters because your top guys need to respect that person) but also generals. We need a general.
To me, those two items speak more to improving our top end, not the periphery. Tatum is capable of being a finals MVP one day, I believe that. Not Brown, and no one else comes remotely close. If Brown maxes out as an All-Star role player (which is what I believe) then you need to move him for a package that remedies the biggest need — high-end talent for a position of need and ideally someone who will set the tone.