Bill Belichick rubbed off on Brad Stevens for sure. It’s Brad’s job to put the best players out there to win a title. I think he has another arrow in his quiver that other GM’s don’t have because of his long coaching history, including coaching some of the players on this team.
He felt that KP was the perfect availability big he could acquire without losing JB, and when he couldn’t get it done with Brogdon, he sacrificed Marcus. I’m guessing that it must have killed him emotionally to have to do that, but it was best for the roster. I am surprised that he didn’t call Marcus, but maybe the agent heard it first, and got to Marcus before Brad could.
Smart plus two number one picks for a player who is better than Smart, and can fill a most needed role, is a slam dunk. It sucks for Marcus, but I look forward to him diving into the legs of Curry and LeBron four (or more) games a year. It was a great pickup for a Memphis team with enough talent to get to the Finals.