What if...the Celtics keep the pick?

[CoachBo]

I don't think Smart will work at SG. I guess for a year they might do that and let Rondo walk.

With Smart, I'm more concerned about whether he'll work in the NBA at all. If he does, I  think he'd be fine as a SG.

Yeah. I'm most concerned about Smart turning into Metta World Conflict.

[knuckleballer]

I don't think Smart will work at SG. I guess for a year they might do that and let Rondo walk.

With Smart, I'm more concerned about whether he'll work in the NBA at all. If he does, I  think he'd be fine as a SG.

Yeah. I'm most concerned about Smart turning into Metta World Conflict.

There's definitely a gray area between being a fiery leader and a head case.  I'm willing to bet on Smart.  Metta World War has a screw loose.  That time he hit Harden might have been the craziest thing I've seen in the NBA.  He hit Harden while celebrating a dunk.  There was no reason for it, he just felt like hurting someone as part of his celebration.  Really twisted.  Smart shoved a fan because he thought the guy yelled a racial slur. 

[CoachBo]

I'm not.

Right next door to Stillwater and Smart was a frequent flyer in Travis Ford's doghouse. His issues are hardly limited to the Tech situation.

I want NO part of Marcus Smart.

[knuckleballer]

I'm not.

Right next door to Stillwater and Smart was a frequent flyer in Travis Ford's doghouse. His issues are hardly limited to the Tech situation.

I want NO part of Marcus Smart.

Maybe I'm missing something about Smart's history, but the only other indiscretion I'm aware of was kicking a chair.  Travis Ford said this about him.

?I?ve never been around another player in my whole life ? not when I was a player and not since I?ve been a coach ? that is able to bring it EVERY SINGLE DAY,? Ford said. ?I don?t care if it?s two-a-days, three-a-days or five-a-days. I don?t care if it?s 6 a.m. I don?t care if it?s the day after a big win. It?s ridiculous. I knew he was a great leader, but it?s even been a shock to me. Everybody, at some point, has a bad day in terms of coming ready to play. But he never takes a day off. He comes everyday to win every drill. Everyday. Every drill. I don?t care when it is or what it is. Everyday he?s ready. It?s ridiculous.?

[mmmmm]

Yeah, Pau is going to be expensive. I think someone signs him for 30-36 million over 3 years. He is still a top 10 center, who can really score.

The Smart Rondo backcourt will be brutal on offense. But i could see Smart functioning as a 2, in a very poor man's Wade kind of way.

That's stretching the "poor man's XXXXX" phrase to it's limits!

Wade has never been a great shooter, but compared to Smart, he looks like Ray Allen.

I don't ever want to see Smart as my SG.  He is just a horrible shooter.   His jump shot form looks just completely broken and the results are very telling:  Under 30% 3PT shooting in both his college years (Wade was closer to 34% in college).  His FG% was just 40% and 42% his freshman and sophomore seasons, respectively.

People complain about Rondo being a poor shooter, but Rondo is also very selective - he doesn't take shots that he's not efficient at.   Smart took 15.2 FGA per 40 this last year, missing well over half (8. of them.   And unlike Rondo, he's just not a smart facilitator.  He makes tons of dumb passes and his TO rates are awful.   Between turnovers and missed shots, he's way too generous and giving to the defense.

Smart's primary means of scoring in college has been to barrel over folks to get to the rim, drawing fouls.   That's fine.   Will it translate to the NBA?   

I'll pass, thanks.

[knuckleballer]

Yeah, Pau is going to be expensive. I think someone signs him for 30-36 million over 3 years. He is still a top 10 center, who can really score.

The Smart Rondo backcourt will be brutal on offense. But i could see Smart functioning as a 2, in a very poor man's Wade kind of way.

That's stretching the "poor man's XXXXX" phrase to it's limits!

Wade has never been a great shooter, but compared to Smart, he looks like Ray Allen.

I don't ever want to see Smart as my SG.  He is just a horrible shooter.   His jump shot form looks just completely broken and the results are very telling:  Under 30% 3PT shooting in both his college years (Wade was closer to 34% in college).  His FG% was just 40% and 42% his freshman and sophomore seasons, respectively.

People complain about Rondo being a poor shooter, but Rondo is also very selective - he doesn't take shots that he's not efficient at.   Smart took 15.2 FGA per 40 this last year, missing well over half (8. of them.   And unlike Rondo, he's just not a smart facilitator.  He makes tons of dumb passes and his TO rates are awful.   Between turnovers and missed shots, he's way too generous and giving to the defense.

Smart's primary means of scoring in college has been to barrel over folks to get to the rim, drawing fouls.   That's fine.   Will it translate to the NBA?   

I'll pass, thanks.

Smart shot 51.2% on his two point shots, 29.9% on his three point shots, and turned the ball over 2.7 times per game.   In Wade's sophomore year, he shot 51.5% on his two point shots, 33.3% on his three pointers, and turned the ball over 3.2 times per game.

I'm not saying Smart is the second coming of Wade, but I think people are being a bit hard on him.  Also, I think Smart's future is a Westbrook styled point guard rather than a SG.

[Clench123]

Keeping and developing our picks should be the last resort

[kozlodoev]

I don't think Smart will work at SG. I guess for a year they might do that and let Rondo walk.

With Smart, I'm more concerned about whether he'll work in the NBA at all. If he does, I  think he'd be fine as a SG.

Yeah. I'm most concerned about Smart turning into Metta World Conflict.

There's definitely a gray area between being a fiery leader and a head case.  I'm willing to bet on Smart.  Metta World War has a screw loose.  That time he hit Harden might have been the craziest thing I've seen in the NBA.  He hit Harden while celebrating a dunk.  There was no reason for it, he just felt like hurting someone as part of his celebration.  Really twisted.  Smart shoved a fan because he thought the guy yelled a racial slur.

Not concerned about the headcase part, more concerned about him being one step too slow to be an effective finisher, and one or two inches too short to get his pull-up shots off (the windup on his release doesn't help there).

On the other hand, he may end up being the second coming of Dwyane Wade if his game translates, so you never know.

[bearjew]

Yeah, Pau is going to be expensive. I think someone signs him for 30-36 million over 3 years. He is still a top 10 center, who can really score.

The Smart Rondo backcourt will be brutal on offense. But i could see Smart functioning as a 2, in a very poor man's Wade kind of way.

That's stretching the "poor man's XXXXX" phrase to it's limits!

Wade has never been a great shooter, but compared to Smart, he looks like Ray Allen.

I don't ever want to see Smart as my SG.  He is just a horrible shooter.   His jump shot form looks just completely broken and the results are very telling:  Under 30% 3PT shooting in both his college years (Wade was closer to 34% in college).  His FG% was just 40% and 42% his freshman and sophomore seasons, respectively.

People complain about Rondo being a poor shooter, but Rondo is also very selective - he doesn't take shots that he's not efficient at.   Smart took 15.2 FGA per 40 this last year, missing well over half (8. of them.   And unlike Rondo, he's just not a smart facilitator.  He makes tons of dumb passes and his TO rates are awful.   Between turnovers and missed shots, he's way too generous and giving to the defense.

Smart's primary means of scoring in college has been to barrel over folks to get to the rim, drawing fouls.   That's fine.   Will it translate to the NBA?   

I'll pass, thanks.

Smart shot 51.2% on his two point shots, 29.9% on his three point shots, and turned the ball over 2.7 times per game.   In Wade's sophomore year, he shot 51.5% on his two point shots, 33.3% on his three pointers, and turned the ball over 3.2 times per game.

I'm not saying Smart is the second coming of Wade, but I think people are being a bit hard on him.  Also, I think Smart's future is a Westbrook styled point guard rather than a SG.

He finished at the basket a lot and his mechanics are not good. Mechanics are correctable sometimes though.

[mmmmm]

Yeah, Pau is going to be expensive. I think someone signs him for 30-36 million over 3 years. He is still a top 10 center, who can really score.

The Smart Rondo backcourt will be brutal on offense. But i could see Smart functioning as a 2, in a very poor man's Wade kind of way.

That's stretching the "poor man's XXXXX" phrase to it's limits!

Wade has never been a great shooter, but compared to Smart, he looks like Ray Allen.

I don't ever want to see Smart as my SG.  He is just a horrible shooter.   His jump shot form looks just completely broken and the results are very telling:  Under 30% 3PT shooting in both his college years (Wade was closer to 34% in college).  His FG% was just 40% and 42% his freshman and sophomore seasons, respectively.

People complain about Rondo being a poor shooter, but Rondo is also very selective - he doesn't take shots that he's not efficient at.   Smart took 15.2 FGA per 40 this last year, missing well over half (8. of them.   And unlike Rondo, he's just not a smart facilitator.  He makes tons of dumb passes and his TO rates are awful.   Between turnovers and missed shots, he's way too generous and giving to the defense.

Smart's primary means of scoring in college has been to barrel over folks to get to the rim, drawing fouls.   That's fine.   Will it translate to the NBA?   

I'll pass, thanks.

Smart shot 51.2% on his two point shots, 29.9% on his three point shots, and turned the ball over 2.7 times per game.   In Wade's sophomore year, he shot 51.5% on his two point shots, 33.3% on his three pointers, and turned the ball over 3.2 times per game.

Wade also shot 34.6% from 3PT range his freshman year compared to just 29.0% for Smart.  In the aggregate, there is a pretty big gap between Smart's shooting and Wade's.   Also, as someone else pointed out, Smart's 2PT% is heavily weighted by 'at rim' shots.

Just break out video of Smart and simply watch his shooting form.  It is gawd-awful.  His percentages are terrible for a reason.   Now, maybe he can fix it.  I dunno. 

I'm not saying Smart is the second coming of Wade, but I think people are being a bit hard on him.  Also, I think Smart's future is a Westbrook styled point guard rather than a SG.

On the one hand, I actually agree with this.  On the other hand, that doesn't make me want him on my team any more so.

I'm just not a big fan of guards that shoot high volumes of shots at low efficiency and turn the ball over excessively.    But that's just me.

Look - he's a pretty impressive athlete in many ways.  He's strong as a bull and he's explosive.   He'd have made a fantastic running back in the NFL.   He will probably bull his way into being very successful guard of some sort or another in the NBA.

But I do not want the Celtics to spend a #6 pick on him.

If Danny ends up disagreeing, and picks Smart, I'll root for him.  I'll try to see past the limited information we fans have on him (and any of these players) to see if I can perceive what Danny sees in him and maybe I'll change my mind.   But right now, I just don't see it.

[BballTim]

I'm just not a big fan of guards that shoot high volumes of shots at low efficiency and turn the ball over excessively.    But that's just me.

  No, it's not just you.

[byennie]

Well sure, low efficiency stinks. But let's not get it too twisted with Smart. He had more steals than turnovers this year, nearly 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, and scored 18 points per night on 12 shots. He shot over 50% inside the arc, and averaged 8+ FTA.

Don't get me wrong, he needs some polish, but wild shooting turnover machine ain't right.

[mmmmm]

Well sure, low efficiency stinks. But let's not get it too twisted with Smart. He had more steals than turnovers this year, nearly 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, and scored 18 points per night on 12 shots. He shot over 50% inside the arc, and averaged 8+ FTA.

Don't get me wrong, he needs some polish, but wild shooting turnover machine ain't right.

His 'over 50% inside the arc' is basically dominated by 'at the rim' and that is essentially the source of his excellent points-per-FGA efficiency:  Driving to the rim and getting either layups or free throws.

There is nothing wrong with that.  If he is able to continue to work that strategy against NBA defenses, then he'll be successful.   But the idea of him being used as a SG -- especially alongside Rondo -- I find very much not to my liking.  He may (if he can continue to use his barrel-to-the-hoop style successfully) prove to be a good scorer in the NBA.   But he will need to be in a lineup with other shooters providing space.

If I take Smart, it's either to play PG or if I really want him to be an SG, then only to put next to a Stephan Curry.

I don't want to come off as totally bashing Smart.  I'm just not a fan of his style of game in a PG or an SG.

[showtime]

Not a fan of Smart. To short to play shooting guard, plus he can't shoot. That comes in handy when you're a shooting guard. Makes to many bad decisions to be a point guard. Guy reminds me of Marcus Banks.  I'm leaning Randle,Vonleh or Gordon, probably in that order. Randle is more ready to contribute now than the others.

[blink]

I don't think Smart will work at SG. I guess for a year they might do that and let Rondo walk.

I saw Smart play quite a few games last year (I am a big12 fan) and I don't think he is that great off the ball.  He seems to be able to get in a better rhythm when he has the ball in his hands and can make something happen.  I don't see him magically turning into a great 2 in the NBA just because he has the size. 

He is a great defender and has chip on his shoulder at times and also great energy to have an impact on games.  I just don't see him as a wing though.