(Shams) Smart to Lakers after buyout

[QMemphis]

Feel like Dalton is plenty good enough of a prospect for Jalen Smith? How much is an 4th big really worth?

And the Bulls have Vuc/Collins on the roster still.

Jalen has the versatility to play PF/C and is a valuable two way stretch big. While Knecht has lost value and confidence. Not sure how Dalton has any value to play over
Ayo/Kevin/Julian/Matas/Noa/Patrick/THT/Okoro/Dalen.

Dalton at 24 will be 25 before the season ends is only year younger than Jalen Smith. While also being less versatile than all the guys I just listed who range from 2-4 positionally not even counting Coby and Josh.

I mean that list is pretty strong.. but saying THT or Dalen or Julian are more valuable/better than Dalton is weird to me. THT hasn’t gotten a vet min offer yet. Dalen seems a bad contract at 5 mil..

While I spent some time arguing with LA fans for hyping Dalton up so much due to his start of his rookie season, I’m pretty sure some team would still bet on him growing on that. Kind of like Chris Duarte’s value a couple years ago?

And that’s all I Jalen worth really - a couple seconds. A useful enough bench big but not someone you really want starting at all.

Your point could be a need for a third team though?

My point is still why would the Bulls do it. They signed Jalen to be a backup big and instead of them getting assets they get Dalton. Though Dalton has better scoring chops than a few of the guys I listed but if they are going to move Dalton they should be looking at a team with no young wings his minutes would kill.

Dalton for TJD with the warriors plus a 2nd could make sense.

[jayjaysee]

My point is still why would the Bulls do it. They signed Jalen to be a backup big and instead of them getting assets they get Dalton. Though Dalton has better scoring chops than a few of the guys I listed but if they are going to move Dalton they should be looking at a team with no young wings his minutes would kill.

Dalton for TJD with the warriors plus a 2nd could make sense.

The Bulls should be open to trading Jalen because they seem to like Collins. And never traded Vuc. And none of the three are long term starting options? So I’d be looking to get value where I can for whichever of the three has value.

But if the point is just the Bulls would need a third team because they have too many meh wings as is - that’s a fair point.

[zimpy27]

Kleber+Knecht for Jalen Smith seems like a solid trade for both teams.

[jbk1234]

Too bad, I like Smart.

It's really difficult to judge because he hasn't been healthy for awhile now.

[zimpy27]

Too bad, I like Smart.

It's really difficult to judge because he hasn't been healthy for awhile now.

Yeah Lakers aren't getting world-beaters in Smart and Ayton. They were buyouts for a reason, in the case of Smart, his deal wasn't even that large.

Smart and Ayton are bigger names than their game is at this point. Still, they can both play a role on a playoff team, even if a reduced role.

Gabe+Goodwin played 28mpg in the playoffs for the Lakers. Improving on those minutes is a win.

Rui+Hayes+Vando played 48mpg at the C spot for Lakers in playoffs. So Ayton in that spot over the other guys is a win.

[SlimShady83]

Lakers have now waived Goodwin, damn

[Daddy 801]

Hate the Lakers but got to give them their props. Given where they were and the possible moves they could have made they seem like they did a good job.

[Astaluego]

Vincent+Maxi+FRP for Brooks?


Luka/Smart/Brooks/LeBron/Ayton
Reaves/Knecht/LaRavia/Rui/Vandervilt
Bronny/Thiero/Hayes

is starting to look like a contender

[hugepatsfan]

Will be interesting to see how this works out for them. Watching Smart in Boston, the thing I came to learn is that he simply isn't the off ball player people want to make him out to be. He is a PG, not a SG. If you want him to be individually productive on offense, you give him the ball and let him play point. He was a PG coming out of college and that's what he is. Not saying he does that at a starting level for a contending team, but that's the role he's good at for when he is out there. If you put him off ball, he's a negative.

BOS played him with IT, and then Kyrie and then Kemba. Then Ime came in and gave him the PG role and that's when he was a productive part of the offense as they got to the finals. Then Joe Mazzulla came in and put the ball in Tatum's and Brown's hands, making Smart effectively an off ball guy again and he struggled before they traded him. MEM acquired him to go back into that off ball role to Ja and it was clunky again.

I feel like the idea here is going to be that he plays with Luka/Lebron/Reaves for defense while those guys run point/handle and, if they use him like that, he's going to suck on offense and drag things down. That's what history says. If you want a productive version of him I think it needs to be as the backup PG, not as an off ball player to your stars. But LAL's rotation isn't lined up for that because they're going to rotate those 3 guys. I don't see Smart playing well for them.

[PistolPeteJR]

Will be interesting to see how this works out for them. Watching Smart in Boston, the thing I came to learn is that he simply isn't the off ball player people want to make him out to be. He is a PG, not a SG. If you want him to be individually productive on offense, you give him the ball and let him play point. He was a PG coming out of college and that's what he is. Not saying he does that at a starting level for a contending team, but that's the role he's good at for when he is out there. If you put him off ball, he's a negative.

BOS played him with IT, and then Kyrie and then Kemba. Then Ime came in and gave him the PG role and that's when he was a productive part of the offense as they got to the finals. Then Joe Mazzulla came in and put the ball in Tatum's and Brown's hands, making Smart effectively an off ball guy again and he struggled before they traded him. MEM acquired him to go back into that off ball role to Ja and it was clunky again.

I feel like the idea here is going to be that he plays with Luka/Lebron/Reaves for defense while those guys run point/handle and, if they use him like that, he's going to suck on offense and drag things down. That's what history says. If you want a productive version of him I think it needs to be as the backup PG, not as an off ball player to your stars. But LAL's rotation isn't lined up for that because they're going to rotate those 3 guys. I don't see Smart playing well for them.

They're 100% going to lean on him to be a 3&D. They 100% would rather have the ball in Luka, LeBron and Reaves' hands. Why go away from that? Get Smart to save his energy for defense and C&S.

[hugepatsfan]

Will be interesting to see how this works out for them. Watching Smart in Boston, the thing I came to learn is that he simply isn't the off ball player people want to make him out to be. He is a PG, not a SG. If you want him to be individually productive on offense, you give him the ball and let him play point. He was a PG coming out of college and that's what he is. Not saying he does that at a starting level for a contending team, but that's the role he's good at for when he is out there. If you put him off ball, he's a negative.

BOS played him with IT, and then Kyrie and then Kemba. Then Ime came in and gave him the PG role and that's when he was a productive part of the offense as they got to the finals. Then Joe Mazzulla came in and put the ball in Tatum's and Brown's hands, making Smart effectively an off ball guy again and he struggled before they traded him. MEM acquired him to go back into that off ball role to Ja and it was clunky again.

I feel like the idea here is going to be that he plays with Luka/Lebron/Reaves for defense while those guys run point/handle and, if they use him like that, he's going to suck on offense and drag things down. That's what history says. If you want a productive version of him I think it needs to be as the backup PG, not as an off ball player to your stars. But LAL's rotation isn't lined up for that because they're going to rotate those 3 guys. I don't see Smart playing well for them.

They're 100% going to lean on him to be a 3&D. They 100% would rather have the ball in Luka, LeBron and Reaves' hands. Why go away from that? Get Smart to save his energy for defense and C&S.

I get that. I'm not saying any team SHOULD give Smart the ball over those guys. I'm just saying though that it means they're going to be putting him in an offensive role he hurts the team in. Or at least he has so far in his career. Marcus Smart as an off ball player is bad for your offense. He detracts from the team in that role. In an on ball role I think he's additive to the team on offense, though the conundrum is that you need someone who's MORE additive to have the ball if you're going to be championship caliber on offense. So I'm not sure he's ever going to be able to play big minutes on a contender at this stage of his career.

Now, Luka/Lebron/Reaves has the potential to be so strong offensively that you can live with Smart detracting from the offense a bit especially if he's going to get back to elite DPOY type defense. But if Smart has declined to the point even just that he's "only" really good on defense instead of great and he continues to suck as an off ball player, I think it could end up going really poorly and end in him getting benched or moved to a new team. I think he'll be net negative for them in that scenario. So unless he can dial the clock back full tilt on defense I think this could be a bad fit.

[PistolPeteJR]

Will be interesting to see how this works out for them. Watching Smart in Boston, the thing I came to learn is that he simply isn't the off ball player people want to make him out to be. He is a PG, not a SG. If you want him to be individually productive on offense, you give him the ball and let him play point. He was a PG coming out of college and that's what he is. Not saying he does that at a starting level for a contending team, but that's the role he's good at for when he is out there. If you put him off ball, he's a negative.

BOS played him with IT, and then Kyrie and then Kemba. Then Ime came in and gave him the PG role and that's when he was a productive part of the offense as they got to the finals. Then Joe Mazzulla came in and put the ball in Tatum's and Brown's hands, making Smart effectively an off ball guy again and he struggled before they traded him. MEM acquired him to go back into that off ball role to Ja and it was clunky again.

I feel like the idea here is going to be that he plays with Luka/Lebron/Reaves for defense while those guys run point/handle and, if they use him like that, he's going to suck on offense and drag things down. That's what history says. If you want a productive version of him I think it needs to be as the backup PG, not as an off ball player to your stars. But LAL's rotation isn't lined up for that because they're going to rotate those 3 guys. I don't see Smart playing well for them.

They're 100% going to lean on him to be a 3&D. They 100% would rather have the ball in Luka, LeBron and Reaves' hands. Why go away from that? Get Smart to save his energy for defense and C&S.

I get that. I'm not saying any team SHOULD give Smart the ball over those guys. I'm just saying though that it means they're going to be putting him in an offensive role he hurts the team in. Or at least he has so far in his career. Marcus Smart as an off ball player is bad for your offense. He detracts from the team in that role. In an on ball role I think he's additive to the team on offense, though the conundrum is that you need someone who's MORE additive to have the ball if you're going to be championship caliber on offense. So I'm not sure he's ever going to be able to play big minutes on a contender at this stage of his career.

Now, Luka/Lebron/Reaves has the potential to be so strong offensively that you can live with Smart detracting from the offense a bit especially if he's going to get back to elite DPOY type defense. But if Smart has declined to the point even just that he's "only" really good on defense instead of great and he continues to suck as an off ball player, I think it could end up going really poorly and end in him getting benched or moved to a new team. I think he'll be net negative for them in that scenario. So unless he can dial the clock back full tilt on defense I think this could be a bad fit.

I hear that. At the end of the day, it's a very low risk, high reward move, and fills a need for the team. If he's going to have space to shoot anywhere, it's with the Lakers next to Luka and LeBron, not to mention he's got something to prove if he wants one last payday. So we'll see.