Poll: Who would you take moving forward Randle or Smart

[KG Living Legend]

 There is no doubt our perimeter D would suffer without Smart. We did just draft Rozier however.

 Ill take Randle. Simply because we need a 20 ppg potential guy and he will be that if healthy. It was obvious to see you don't see his blend of talents often, and I have never seen a guy quite like him before.

[sed522002]

This thread should be fun..lol 

[Vox_Populi]

I don't understand.

[alldaboston]

Smart. Randle looks much more ready now but his defense is straight up bad. Smart has the defense on his side, and we have seen he can score in college and on occasions in the NBA. I feel it's much easier (and likely) to develop offensively than it is defensively. So Smart for me.

[KG Living Legend]

Couldn't disagree more. It's much harder to get a guy like smart to become a beast offensively.

[DarkAzcura]

Couldn't disagree more. It's much harder to get a guy like smart to become a beast offensively.

If Smart showed no offensive ability in his life, I'd agree, but he was a 18 PPG scorer in his second year of college (15 PPG as a freshman). He was one of the best at drawing fouls (if not the best) in the country, and was the best guard finisher in college. Honestly he was a beast offensively in college. Smart was a scoring point guard first and foremost. He's not allergic to scoring. He just needs a bit of time to figure it out in the NBA. I have more faith in Smart developing into a 15-17 PPG scorer than I do Randle turning into a good all around player. Smart at 15-17 PPG coupled with his defense is one of the best two way players in the league. I'll take that, imo. Both players will be/should be very solid staple pieces for their franchises, though.

Heck, if Smart is able to bring his slashing game to the NBA over the next year or two, you are actually looking at a potential 20 PPG scorer because of his improved 3PT shot out of college. We have yet to see that, though.

[RondoToKG]

I think Smart has much more long term potential.

[flybono]

Pair Smart in time with a true point guard and then you got something..

Randle is another player in a long line that entered the draft to early. In the NFL he's a JAG..

[alldaboston]

Couldn't disagree more. It's much harder to get a guy like smart to become a beast offensively.

If Smart showed no offensive ability in his life, I'd agree, but he was a 18 PPG scorer in his second year of college (15 PPG as a freshman). He was one of the best at drawing fouls (if not the best) in the country, and was the best guard finisher in college. Honestly he was a beast offensively in college. Smart was a scoring point guard first and foremost. He's not allergic to scoring. He just needs a bit of time to figure it out in the NBA. I have more faith in Smart developing into a 15-17 PPG scorer than I do Randle turning into a good all around player. Smart at 15-17 PPG coupled with his defense is one of the best two way players in the league. I'll take that, imo. Both players will be/should be very solid staple pieces for their franchises, though.

Heck, if Smart is able to bring his slashing game to the NBA over the next year or two, you are actually looking at a potential 20 PPG scorer because of his improved 3PT shot out of college. We have yet to see that, though.

TP. This is what I meant in my first post.

[crimson_stallion]

Smart.

Personally, I don't believe that Randle has 20 PPG potential at all.  I think his offensive skill set is far too limited, given that he basically has no offensive game outside of 5 feet.  At the same time he's got average (at best) size for an NBA PF, so I don't see him dominating against NBA Power Forwards in the paint either.  I can see him having the occasional huge games when he has a mismatch against 'small ball' lineups (guys like Thad Young, who will struggle to contain his physical strength) but I can't see him doing that on anything resembling a nightly basis.  I can see him being maybe an 18/9 guy maybe, at a squeeze.   On the defensive end he's pretty bad, and will likely always be a liability.

Smart has All-Defensive First Team potential (he's already almost there) and while his offense has yet to develop, I'm pretty confident it will come.  I doubt Smart will ever be an elite offensive talent, but I can see him being a productive offensive player.  I think overall numbers of around 15 / 4 / 6 are realistic.

If I had to choose between:
1) A 15/4/6 guard with All-Defensive Team credentials or
2) A 18/9 forward who is a defensive liability and doesn't stretch the floor

I'd go with the first one.

[KG Living Legend]

 He was a good scorer but mostly when he was getting to the rim at will now for whatever reason he can't. And he was never a good shooter. And he's 6'2". So when you don't shoot well and your not getting to the rim you got problems.

 I'll tell you what I think is odd about him. He's a tremendous athlete of defense.
 However on offense I'm really disappointed in his athleticism on offense. He even seems slow with his first step.

 And then with Randle he shoes very little in defense. But on offense he's the quickest, meanest dude around.

 They are polar opposites time will tell who's better.

[crimson_stallion]

 He was a good scorer but mostly when he was getting to the rim at will now for whatever reason he can't. And he was never a good shooter. And he's 6'2"

Since when is Marcus Smart 6'2"?

* His 2013 USA Basketball measurements have him at 6'4" / 226 lbs
* His 2014 Combine measurements have him at 6'3" / 227
* NBA.com lists him at 6'4" / 220

Unless you're talking about height without shoes, I don't recall anybody ever measuring Smart at 6'2". 

The kid has outstanding size for an NBA PG, and very decent size for an NBA SG.

[chambers]

I'd still take Smart because Randle has only played a few games after the offseason to recover. Randle does look great, but I think this discussion should be had after a season to gauge Randle's ceiling in the NBA.

Regardless of what happens I'd never have any regrets about taking Smart even if Randle turned out to be an All Star because they were both really solid prospects minus Randle's injury concerns.

But yeah, as far as who the better player will be in 5 years time, I'll give it another year watching Randle before making that call.
 

[GetLucky]

I like Smart because he really fits the identity of this team (gritty, defense-first overachievers). Granted, I also think Randle will be an excellent player in his own right, but Smart has that undeniable "it" factor. Hopefully they will be the faces of the next great Celtics-Lakers Finals showdowns.

[KG Living Legend]

 He was a good scorer but mostly when he was getting to the rim at will now for whatever reason he can't. And he was never a good shooter. And he's 6'2"

Since when is Marcus Smart 6'2"?

* His 2013 USA Basketball measurements have him at 6'4" / 226 lbs
* His 2014 Combine measurements have him at 6'3" / 227
* NBA.com lists him at 6'4" / 220

Unless you're talking about height without shoes, I don't recall anybody ever measuring Smart at 6'2". 

The kid has outstanding size for an NBA PG, and very decent size for an NBA SG.

 I like to live in the real world with height. And that means doing it the same way we all did it growing up at the doctors office, that's with your shoes off.

 He's 6'2" with long arms. I know he's been listed at 6'4" but he's not. But that's not the problem, it's that he's not as quick or as explosive as I'll hoped.