Marcus Smart -- Keep or Trade?

[PhoSita]

Marcus Smart is currently projected by DraftExpress to go at #5 in the upcoming draft.  The Celtics are expected by  many analysts and pundits to be among the worst teams in the league this season, though not one of the very worst.

What if the Celtics are sitting at #5 in the draft and Marcus Smart is considered to be both a potential franchise talent and the clear-cut best player available? 

Should the Celtics trade the pick?  Draft Smart and trade him later?  Try to convert Smart into a Wade-like shooting guard?  Or trade Rondo for additional assets (perhaps a pick later in the lottery plus other pieces) and move forward with Smart as the guy?

[fitzhickey]

Keep. too good a prospect to trade if we can't get anything in return.
I like the convert to a Wade type idea

[action781]

I've said this once or twice before in the forums, but I think Marcus Smart has Tyreke Evans written all over him.  I'm not interested in him at all.  Trade it.  See if packaging it with one of our other future first rounders can secure us one of Wiggins (doubtful), Parker, or Randle.

[lightspeed5]

smart is too slow to be as effective in the NBA.

[indeedproceed]

Marcus Smart is the one guy Id be really down on if that's who the Cs ended up with among the blue chip prospects that are projected to come out. Just not the guy Id want to bet the farm on. Id rather Gordon or Parker.

To be fair though, I would've taken Milicic over Wade and Bosh (but not Melo, that's nuts).

[green147]

Marcus smart could be a very good James Harden-type player. If we got him, it'd be great (although someone like Parker makes more sense for the Celtics). Him paired with Rondo and Green is a really good combo.

[PhoSita]

The criticisms / doubts about Marcus Smart are well taken.  To be clear, however, my intention with this post is not to suggest that I actually think Marcus Smart is definitely worthy of consideration as a potential franchise player.  Honestly, I don't know enough about him to say one way or another.

Rather, I'm positing a scenario in which everybody agrees that that is the case.  It doesn't have to be Smart.  It could be some other point guard prospect, i.e. Dante Exum.

I think generally speaking we can agree that if there's a wing or big man prospect who's regarded as being even pretty close to Smart or Exum, it would be better to take one of them.  But I'm trying to imagine what will happen if the Celtics are picking at the cut-off between the real franchise-altering talents and the projects / boom-or-bust types.

[indeedproceed]

The criticisms / doubts about Marcus Smart are well taken.  To be clear, however, my intention with this post is not to suggest that I actually think Marcus Smart is definitely worthy of consideration as a potential franchise player.

Rather, I'm positing a scenario in which everybody agrees that that is the case.  It doesn't have to be smart.  It could be some other point guard prospect, i.e. Dante Exum.

I think generally speaking we can agree that if there's a wing or big man prospect who's regarded as being even pretty close to Smart or Exum, it would be better to take one of them.  But I'm trying to imagine what will happen if the Celtics are picking at the cut-off between the real franchise-altering talents and the projects / boom-or-bust types.

Ah. Well if current projections hold (which they won't) it's almost got to be Smart then. And in that case, who knows?

It's all about the package coming back. What if we could acquire Aldridge? What if we could acquire a great pick in the following year (which also is looking pretty decent) and could also acquire a later pick or other assets?

A lot of it hinges on Rondo. If we do trade him, you probably keep him. If he's still there, you probably still keep him unless there is a sweetheart deal. There are just so many variables. Is 'trust Danny to not screw it up' an option?

[PhoSita]

Is 'trust Danny to not screw it up' an option?

Realistically, that's our ONLY option.  Pretty much has to be the motto for the next year or five.


By the way, regarding Aldridge -- trading for him or signing him is a hypothetical that I see brought up around here a lot, and understandably so.  Aldridge is pretty similar to Pau Gasol circa 2008 as a really, really attractive #2 star type who could push a team over the top if he joins another established star, ideally an alpha dog type, though not necessarily an elite scorer.

While understandable, though, I don't think it's a realistic idea, for a simple reason.  The Trailblazers have better young talent to put around Aldridge than we do.  Why would Aldridge really prefer to play with Rondo and Green over Lillard and Batum?  To a Celtics fan, that seems like a silly question, but Lillard had a pretty good rookie season on his way to winning RoY, and he could be the next Deron Williams (I'm doubtful, but he seems like a nice scorer and solid passer).  He's also much younger than Rondo and has never (to my knowledge) had a major knee injury.  Batum, meanwhile, is a really nice all-around player who occasionally has a big game.  He's a younger Jeff Green who can actually rebound, defend at a high level with multiple steals and blocks, and create for others.  The Trailblazers had one of the best starting 5 units in the league last year.  All they needed was to upgrade their bench, and they did that this off-season. 

I don't think Aldridge will seriously consider leaving after this season, even if they fail to make the playoffs in a tough Western Conference.  Things are looking up for that team.

Kevin Love is a different story -- the T-Wolves seem to have a lot of bad luck with injuries and I doubt they'll make the playoffs anytime soon.  But if he's going anywhere in free agency (or forcing a trade), he'll probably want to go to LA.

[indeedproceed]

Is 'trust Danny to not screw it up' an option?

Realistically, that's our ONLY option.  Pretty much has to be the motto for the next year or five.


By the way, regarding Aldridge -- trading for him or signing him is a hypothetical that I see brought up around here a lot, and understandably so.  Aldridge is pretty similar to Pau Gasol circa 2008 as a really, really attractive #2 star type who could push a team over the top if he joins another established star, ideally an alpha dog type, though not necessarily an elite scorer.

While understandable, though, I don't think it's a realistic idea, for a simple reason.  The Trailblazers have better young talent to put around Aldridge than we do.  Why would Aldridge really prefer to play with Rondo and Green over Lillard and Batum?  To a Celtics fan, that seems like a silly question, but Lillard had a pretty good rookie season on his way to winning RoY, and he could be the next Deron Williams (I'm doubtful, but he seems like a nice scorer and solid passer).  He's also much younger than Rondo and has never (to my knowledge) had a major knee injury.  The Trailblazers had one of the best starting 5 units in the league last year.  All they needed was to upgrade their bench, and they did that this off-season. 

I don't think Aldridge will seriously consider leaving after this season, even if they fail to make the playoffs in a tough Western Conference.  Things are looking up for that team.

Kevin Love is a different story -- the T-Wolves seem to have a lot of bad luck with injuries.  But if he's going anywhere in free agency (or forcing a trade), he'll probably want to go to LA.

Aldridge needs to go to Chicago if he goes anywhere. Nobody else has the chips/appeal. Boozer's contract, Mirotic's rights, Charlotte's pick, Chicago's next and their 2016...they could potentially get it done.

[indeedproceed]

Boozer, Butler, Hinrich (exp), Mirotic, 2014 1st, Charlotte's pick for Matthews, Aldridge. Who says no?

[PhoSita]

Is 'trust Danny to not screw it up' an option?

Realistically, that's our ONLY option.  Pretty much has to be the motto for the next year or five.


By the way, regarding Aldridge -- trading for him or signing him is a hypothetical that I see brought up around here a lot, and understandably so.  Aldridge is pretty similar to Pau Gasol circa 2008 as a really, really attractive #2 star type who could push a team over the top if he joins another established star, ideally an alpha dog type, though not necessarily an elite scorer.

While understandable, though, I don't think it's a realistic idea, for a simple reason.  The Trailblazers have better young talent to put around Aldridge than we do.  Why would Aldridge really prefer to play with Rondo and Green over Lillard and Batum?  To a Celtics fan, that seems like a silly question, but Lillard had a pretty good rookie season on his way to winning RoY, and he could be the next Deron Williams (I'm doubtful, but he seems like a nice scorer and solid passer).  He's also much younger than Rondo and has never (to my knowledge) had a major knee injury.  The Trailblazers had one of the best starting 5 units in the league last year.  All they needed was to upgrade their bench, and they did that this off-season. 

I don't think Aldridge will seriously consider leaving after this season, even if they fail to make the playoffs in a tough Western Conference.  Things are looking up for that team.

Kevin Love is a different story -- the T-Wolves seem to have a lot of bad luck with injuries.  But if he's going anywhere in free agency (or forcing a trade), he'll probably want to go to LA.

Aldridge needs to go to Chicago if he goes anywhere. Nobody else has the chips/appeal. Boozer's contract, Mirotic's rights, Charlotte's pick, Chicago's next and their 2016...they could potentially get it done.

Yeah, perhaps.

I think the most likely scenario is the Blazers are improved this season, appear to be on the up-and-up, and Aldridge stays put.  It's not like there's a short window for them with Aldridge.  With his size and shooting ability, he should be a really good player well into his 30s as long as he stays healthy.

If the Blazers look to make a major move, I think they'd be trying to upgrade at the 2 or the 5, not moving Aldridge for more rebuilding pieces.

[chambers]

Marcus Smart is currently projected by DraftExpress to go at #5 in the upcoming draft.  The Celtics are expected by  many analysts and pundits to be among the worst teams in the league this season, though not one of the very worst.

What if the Celtics are sitting at #5 in the draft and Marcus Smart is considered to be both a potential franchise talent and the clear-cut best player available? 

Should the Celtics trade the pick?  Draft Smart and trade him later?  Try to convert Smart into a Wade-like shooting guard?  Or trade Rondo for additional assets (perhaps a pick later in the lottery plus other pieces) and move forward with Smart as the guy?

Depends on how Rondo is looking injury/trade value wise and how possible any trades for high profile players are available.
If Rondo wants out of town I would love a scenario like the following...

1) A true bottom 5 team like the Kings or Bobcats get unlucky on lottery night and end up with the 7th or 8th pick.
We get lucky to keep our projected pick and get a top 4-6 pick.

2)draft Marcus Smart or whoever is available that is the best talent.

3) Rondo doesn't want to be part of a rebuild and it's looking hard for Danny to get him any real All Star help. He wants out, or another team is willing to over pay for him.
Danny decides it's time to blow this thing to Buffalo.

4) Kings want Rondo and another player to pair with Cousins and they are willing to take Jeff Green too (becoming a playoff team overnight).

5)Kings give us their 6th-8th pick and Ben Mclemore for Rondo and Green or Rondo and Sully. (plus fillers).Might have to throw in Avery Bradley but Danny pulls the trigger in a heart beat if Rondo is on his way out too.

6)Jabari Parker or another high potential/impact small forward is available at the 6th or 7th pick and we get him.

We potentially end up with.

PG Marcus Smart
SG Ben Mclemore
SF Jabari Parker
PF Jarred Sullinger/Olynyk
C  Free agent centre (Marc Gasol?) or someone nice and young with our other Nets picks.

Kings end up with

PG Rondo
SG Avery
SF Green
PF Free agent (Milsap? Zac Randolph? Pau Gasol?)
C Cousins

This is the beauty of getting a top 5 pick this draft.
If Smart is still around, there will be plenty of other guys Danny will want too.
You'll find plenty of teams willing to give up their 5th or 6th/7-10th for our 7th/8th-12th plus another first rounder or trade asset.

If he's around I think Danny asks who wants him and then goes hard at Jabari Parker(if he's around) with that teams pick and picks up an extra asset.

Smart at 5th, Parker at 6th or 7th is very possible.
We swap and pick up a sweetner.

Smart is nasty though. Wouldn't complain about him.

[CFAN38]

For me I have two likely celtic scenarios. Both figure on the Cs being a lottery team this year.

1. Cs get to draft night and make a move for a vet big Aldridge, love or ?. Forming a new core of Rondo, Green and Big

2. Cs have no opportunity to go after a all-star level big and must commit to building thru draft. In this scenario I can see both Rondo (28 at draft) and Green (27 at draft) being moved. The goal would likly be to obtain further cap flexibility and an other lottery pick. If this is the case I could see Smart, Exum, A harrison, or S Christon all as possibility as one of the the Cs early first round picks. Harrison and Exum particularly intrigue me as back court mate with AB. The Cs would also have a 2nd early pick and brooklyns likely late first to add young talent.


 

[action781]

Boozer, Butler, Hinrich (exp), Mirotic, 2014 1st, Charlotte's pick for Matthews, Aldridge. Who says no?

If that's an acceptable offer for Portland... would the celtics beat it with an Avery Bradley, Humphries (exp), 2 future firsts offer for just Aldridge.  Throw in one of Sullinger/Olynyk since we won't need as many front court bodies anyways.  The one year less on Humphries' contract frees up cap space a year sooner.