Right and I wouldn't expect him to score 20 here, obviously. But he's not a wildly inefficient player just scoring on tons of volume. Last two years, his eFG% is 56.0%. That's significantly better than Tatum (52.1%), and it's better than Harden (54.4%), Doncic (53.9%), Kawhi (54.2%), etc. Not saying he's as good as those guys, but he's not just a chucker on a bad team. He's a good player. He only takes 14.2 shots a game.
Doesn't the TPE being part of the deal pretty much require their to be two separate deals: one with only Fournier being exchanged for TPE + draft picks; and then some other separate deal to craft the balance?
An incredibly efficient 16-20 point scorer on a shit team.
Great deal for DEN. Gary Harris has not been good and is paid 21 million next year. Hampton may be good down the road, but there was a reason he lasted until pick 24. Curious what the first is.
Man, that really seems like a deal the Celtics could have topped with Smart+first(s). Not happy.
He's hit over 53% of his corner 3s (on small volume) the last 2 seasons, so parking him in the corner should lead to more kick-outs from the paint
He's a better player than 2021 Marcus Smart. Hopefully the old Marcus can be extracted from his protective layer of blubber.
He isn't worse either.
He is worse and demonstrably so based on just about every metric out there. Perhaps there are NBA executives that think differently but I would be genuinely surprised if one would willingly trade Smart for Fournier straight up all else equal.
2021 Marcus Smart has been injured and, at various times, the only consistent veteran they have had. I expect the daily fantasy crowd to redraft the Cs after each bad quarter but you are reacting to a very tiny sample size here which is remarkable.
Smart is incredibly overrated in these parts and I like how everyone just assumes a return to form. Just like they assumed GWill and Smart would work their way into game shape as the season went along.
That is your opinion and I will not attempt to change it. Because people are already citing this year, which is kind of silly given the SSS nature of the data, I will simply say that over the entirety of their careers, Marcus Smart has been a much better player than Evan Fournier. That is an entirely supportable position. Beyond that, its all just opinions.
Meh... it depends how you think Offense/Defense balance matters in the NBA. Fournier is a significantly better offensive player, Smart is a significantly better defender. If you think they are equally important, Smart's probably the better player. If you think offense matters more in the NBA (many do) then it's pretty debatable who the better player is.
They also desperately need someone that can create quality shots for others on the second unit, so Marcus going back to sixth man extraordinaire really helps the team.
Some would argue with that. I wouldn't. I think Smart's shooting is a huge hinderance and that he's closer to his career .319 mark from 3.
This is true anyway. In any world they traded Smart, they'd need to bring a playmaker back.
My theory is also that Smart is a leader in the "do whatever it takes to win" guy and on the current roster, to Smart that means "they need my offense". This is not good. By acquiring Fournier they fill this need and so now do whatever it takes to win for Smart can be "defense/playmaker" again, and occasionally scoring when somebody is on the bench or dead. And the occasional three.
That went in a completely different and less satisfying direction than I was anticipating.
Tatum and Brown having a lighter offensive load probably solves some defensive issues on its own.
There's almost always going to be 2-3 better shooters than Smart on the court, 2nd unit or not. I'd worry Smart would be even more willing to launch misguided shots if he's playing alongside 2nd unit players instead of 1st. Of course, our 2nd unit sucks so a misguided Marcus shot isn't the worst outcome.
Yeah, that's been Smart for his career. The biggest issue with Gordo leaving was that Kemba's recovery has been sporadic (at best) and too much of the offensive burden has fallen on the JayCrew, which has hurt the team defensively. Having Fournier to provide offense makes them better on both sides of the ball.
Man, great Jake Peavey reference. Lot of folks forget how he stopped a freefall in that rotation for a few weeks. That shit mattered.
People here have been fantasizing about trading Marcus since about five minutes after he was drafted. In that sense, at least, Aaron Nesmith is the new Marcus.
They'll decline and it's not some Boston bias. His FGA will also probably go down.
This also puts them just barely into the tax so I'm sure they want to trade someone instead of releasing them.
Yup. We'll see how the rest of the season goes but I think Ainge will be busy this summer trying to find a legit 3rd banana. And pretty much everyone will be available outside of Tatum and probably Jaylen.
Yeah, the need was clear, the price was good, and they have plenty of salary to match in offseason deals. I'm a fan.
