AtheJ415 wrote:NavLDO wrote:AtheJ415 wrote:
I wouldn't say he's better than Fox offensively. His shooting numbers are worse than Fox's in college overall (TS and EFG). And with Fox you know he can get to the hoop at the NBA level due to his speed, which is very valuable. I can't see anything Smart does at a good level on offense in the NBA aside from FT%. He is a better defender, but he is so bad offensively 3 years in that I would much rather run the chance of Fox developing than Smart. Looking at his numbers he is shooting about the same from everywhere as his rookie year, with roughly the same shooting attempt rate, and with only improvement from the FT line. I would expect at least some legitimate minor improvement by now given how bad he was coming out on the offensive end. Besides, mindset matters and Smart straight chucks on offense. And when you watch him they aren't good shots. He almost has Brandon Knight's mentality imo (Knight takes a couple more shots a game/minute, but Knight is also a much better shooter than Smart sadly).
Another issue is he has a reputation as a winner (similar to Knight), which means he will get paid a premium that might not be warranted (like Knight), and he is an FA fairly soon.
I honestly wouldn't trade any of our youngsters for him except maybe Peters. Maybe I am being too harsh there, but I would rather Ulis get those minutes. Imo Ulis will end up better than Smart within 2 years. I'd take a pick or Bled way above Smart.
If we could get him for one of the vets, like Dudley or Chandler, okay. Then I'd be alright taking the chance on him given his age with the hopes he becomes anything on offense.
And look at his Playoff Numbers. Stls --> ; eFG% --> ; 3PT% --> ; TRBs --> ; TS% --> ...point being, it these types of things that help portray that type of reputation. When you play BETTER in a 'higher amped' environment, that's a positive for a player, IMO. He didn't 'crumble' under the pressure; he embraced it. He didn't 'explode' or anything, but he did improve somewhat.
He was still at best a neutral player, and me saying that is generous.
Oh, I agree, just because he was BETTER in certain areas, doesn't mean he was actually GOOD in those areas...and no, I wouldn't want McD to trade any of our 'youngsters' for him, either, and I certainly wouldn't want Bledsoe traded for him, straight up. Doesn't matter anyway, the Kyrie trade will finalize. But if for some reason it didn't? Smart, IT, and the BRK pick for Bledsoe and the Mia Pick.
