Offseason Thread

[Who]

Smart to Lakers. Good move for them

In a trade? Or was he bought out?

[Celtic Fan Forever]

Smart to Lakers. Good move for them

In a trade? Or was he bought out?

Bought out- Lakers gave him 2 years, $11 million.

[Who]

So another defensive guard for LAL. M Smart, Gabe Vincent, Bronny, Jordan Goodwin. None true PGs. All combo guards skill-wise. Smart clearly the most established of the 4.

Bronny should be disappointed. Less opportunities for him. He should have been hoping to have a breakout year and establish himself as a rotation player next season.

-----------------------------------

G: A Reaves, G Vincent
G: L Doncic, M Smart
F: LeBron, Knecht
F: Hachimura, J LaRavia
C: D Ayton, Jaxson Hayes

Others: Bronny, J Goodwin, A Theirro, Vanderbilit, Maxi Kleber

So the 3rd stringers are two defensive combo guards. Two defensive forwards with little to no offense. And a stretch PF/C who plays little defense.

Knecht is their only bench player that provides a punch offensively. Not that LAL needs more offense with their Big Three. Hachimura and Ayton as 4th/5th options.

I am not sure how good a fit Smart is on that team. They need off ball shooters next to Luka and Co. That isn't Smart. Defensively he should be useful ... but not sure Smart changes much for LAL. He hasn't played much last 2 years due to injuries and hasn't played that well when he has. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

[SparzWizard]

Barf. Smart to the Lakers. He looked washed anyways...hope he does not rediscover his 2022 DPOY days with them because he significantly watered down after winning that award. He was tossed around like a ragged doll after Stevens shipped him out.

[Goldstar88]

Smart to Lakers. Good move for them

Hate to see him go to the Lakers, but it was a solid addition. They didn?t have a backup PG. Polenka made some good additions this offseason. Ugh.

Starters: Doncic, Reeves, Hachimura, LeBron, Ayton

Bench: Smart, Vincent, Laravia, Vanderbilt, Kleber.

They have some nice defensive pieces and depth. 

[OnPoint]

I no longer understand the NBA landscape.

Does this mean Khris Middleton and CJ McCollum are also going to get bought out? What?s the point of buying out a veteran on an expiring contract, in a contract year, no less? I would?ve thought it made far more sense to hold onto Smart, raise his value, and then get an asset for him at the deadline. Same goes for Ayton. Buying out Beal and Dame is absolutely bananas to me.

What the hell is going on? The second apron has made everyone lose their minds.

[Who]

LAL should sign Josh Okogie.

He'd be a better fit as a 3+D wing.

[Who]

I no longer understand the NBA landscape.

Does this mean Khris Middleton and CJ McCollum are also going to get bought out? What?s the point of buying out a veteran on an expiring contract, in a contract year, no less? I would?ve thought it made far more sense to hold onto Smart, raise his value, and then get an asset for him at the deadline. Same goes for Ayton. Buying out Beal and Dame is absolutely bananas to me.

What the hell is going on? The second apron has made everyone lose their minds.

Washington has too many players and not enough minutes to go around.

I think they want to play 1 guard 3 SF 1 big lineups.

So they want 1 veteran guard (McCollum) and have 1 young guard (Bub Carrington). They have a huge number of SFs - Middleton, Coulibaly, Kyshawn George, lotto pick Tre Johnson (SG), Cam Whitmore, Justin Champagnie (played well for them last season), Will Riley, Dillon Brooks, Jalen McDaniels, Corey Kispert (more of a SG), AJ Johnson (SG). 11 players for those 3 positions most of who are young and need playing time to develop. Then they have their bigs - Sarr, R Holmes, Vukcevic.

I think they bought out Smart to free up time for their young SFs that they want to give playing time. Probably asked Smart to give up a small portion of his salary in exchange for releasing him.

[tazzmaniac]

I no longer understand the NBA landscape.

Does this mean Khris Middleton and CJ McCollum are also going to get bought out? What?s the point of buying out a veteran on an expiring contract, in a contract year, no less? I would?ve thought it made far more sense to hold onto Smart, raise his value, and then get an asset for him at the deadline. Same goes for Ayton. Buying out Beal and Dame is absolutely bananas to me.

What the hell is going on? The second apron has made everyone lose their minds.

2nd apron has made teams gain some fiscal sense.  There have been a lot fewer bad contracts given to players this offseason. 

No team was going to give up an asset for Smart and his 21M contract.  Wizards are looking to give their young players playing time while they tank.  They lose their pick if it doesn't fall within the top 8.  No team was going to give up assets for Ayton, Beal or Dame. 

Dame was waived and stretched in order to free up space to sign Turner.  Desperate but not bananas move to get Giannis to stay. So far it sounds like it has worked which makes it worth it.   

[Neurotic Guy]

Well.  I despise Marcus Smart.

[JBcat]

I no longer understand the NBA landscape.

Does this mean Khris Middleton and CJ McCollum are also going to get bought out? What?s the point of buying out a veteran on an expiring contract, in a contract year, no less? I would?ve thought it made far more sense to hold onto Smart, raise his value, and then get an asset for him at the deadline. Same goes for Ayton. Buying out Beal and Dame is absolutely bananas to me.

What the hell is going on? The second apron has made everyone lose their minds.

2nd apron has made teams gain some fiscal sense.  There have been a lot fewer bad contracts given to players this offseason. 

No team was going to give up an asset for Smart and his 21M contract.  Wizards are looking to give their young players playing time while they tank.  They lose their pick if it doesn't fall within the top 8.  No team was going to give up assets for Ayton, Beal or Dame. 

Dame was waived and stretched in order to free up space to sign Turner.  Desperate but not bananas move to get Giannis to stay. So far it sounds like it has worked which makes it worth it.   

With all due respect to Marcus Smart because I love him, I just think his body is cooked. This may be the best Wizards were going to do with limited trade value.

[mobilija]

Smart to Lakers. Good move for them

Makes me want to puke

I kinda love it.

When rival teams take on your teams washed out players, it?s a bit of a nod. They want what we had but can only have a worse version. It?s like Lawyer Malloy or Bledsoe to the Bills (without the draft pick fleece). Smart is not bringing LA a championship. But if by (slim) chance he does, hat tip.

Btw, Smart was a great player for us. He helped establish a workman, gritty culture in his early years and his best season helped put us on the brink of a Championship. Great draft pick, we maxed out his value as a player and an asset.

[OnPoint]

I no longer understand the NBA landscape.

Does this mean Khris Middleton and CJ McCollum are also going to get bought out? What?s the point of buying out a veteran on an expiring contract, in a contract year, no less? I would?ve thought it made far more sense to hold onto Smart, raise his value, and then get an asset for him at the deadline. Same goes for Ayton. Buying out Beal and Dame is absolutely bananas to me.

What the hell is going on? The second apron has made everyone lose their minds.

2nd apron has made teams gain some fiscal sense.  There have been a lot fewer bad contracts given to players this offseason. 

No team was going to give up an asset for Smart and his 21M contract.  Wizards are looking to give their young players playing time while they tank.  They lose their pick if it doesn't fall within the top 8.  No team was going to give up assets for Ayton, Beal or Dame. 

Dame was waived and stretched in order to free up space to sign Turner.  Desperate but not bananas move to get Giannis to stay. So far it sounds like it has worked which makes it worth it.   

I?d actually argue the opposite. It feels like teams are panicking and losing their minds. The reason we saw only a few bad contracts moved is because only one team had real cap space.

Smart?s deal, as an expiring contract, could?ve been an asset ? either packaged with another expiring to make a run at the next disgruntled star, or used in a trade with a team looking to shed long-term salary while still getting a playoff contributor.

Buyouts, on the other hand, are just dead money. They help ownership cut costs but offer no value to a GM. And we?re seeing more of them this offseason than ever before.

[Who]

The Washington Wizards have waived Blake Wesley, was recently acquired from the San Antonio Spurs as part of the Kelly Olynyk trade.

Wesley was the 25th overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft out of Notre Dame by the Spurs.

Wesley is known for being a standout defender but a dodgy offensive player.

[SparzWizard]

Smart to Lakers. Good move for them

Makes me want to puke

I kinda love it.

When rival teams take on your teams washed out players, it?s a bit of a nod. They want what we had but can only have a worse version. It?s like Lawyer Malloy or Bledsoe to the Bills (without the draft pick fleece). Smart is not bringing LA a championship. But if by (slim) chance he does, hat tip.

Btw, Smart was a great player for us. He helped establish a workman, gritty culture in his early years and his best season helped put us on the brink of a Championship. Great draft pick, we maxed out his value as a player and an asset.

Idk about that, Rondo and Avery Bradley both won championships with LA picking up our scraps. Hate that they picked up Smart, just hope he doesn't redefine his youth again