I like Smart a lot... he does a lot of really good things. The problem is the things he doesn't do mean it's very tough to build around that trio.I keep seeing people saying this, and I couldn't disagree more. I think he's a fantastic fit with the Jays(I should note I'm in the top 1% of Smart fanboys)
On offense
good ballhandler
good passer
good screener
moves the ball quickly
doesn't shoot a lot
hit his free throws
opportunistic rebounder
On defense
elite defender
guards 1-4
if playing with a small PG, he'll be the guy scramming him out of bad matchups, so the Jays don't have to
if playing with a PG that doesn't need help, he'll take the toughest wing matchup, so the Jays don't have to
puts pressure on offense by being a threat to steal the ball at all times
Of course we'd like him to also be a good outside shooter. But if he were, you wouldn't have him as your 3rd best guy making less than 20M per year. He'd be making the max because he'd be an all star.
If they trade Smart for more shooting, the Celtics will quickly be looking to replace everything else he does.
Seems to me it would be much easier to just add a shooter, even a one dimensional one, rather than have Smart/Brown/Tatum playing in so many lineups where the other two guys also aren't good outside shooters.
you can't have multiple guys who don't space the floor in your crunch time lineups, and Marcus can't space at all. That ususally means you need a stretch big who is a real threat. In part because Marcus is also a crappy rebounder.
Late game, it's really hard to build a good 5 man unit around:
1. An ISO star (Tatum) who is (usually) a solid 3pt shooter and a solid to good rebounder (depending on position)
2. A good ISO scorer and solid 3pt shooter who passes well below average and rebounds average
3. A guard who isn't the primary facilitator, is left wide open because he can't consistently hit 3s and rebounds poorly for any position.
Smart having basically no role on offense late in games: ot a good enough facilitator to be using possessions over Tatum, negative spacing because nobody covers him from 3, and he hurts the rebounding... means you need to get good rebounding, and floor spacing from your other 2 guys, which is a hard sell.
As a comparison, a similarly good defensive guard who can't (won't) shoot 3s is Simmons, he also struggles at the line..... I still think he'd be a much better fit (not that PHI would make a deal w/o Brown) than Marcus, because while he won't stretch the floor, he rebounds like an above average PF, letting you get away with worse rebounders at the other 2 positions. It's a lot easier to find guys who can hit 3s and rebound a bit, than guys who can hit 3s and rebound enough to offset poor rebounding guards.
As an example, one issue now is that the Celtics' over 6'4" 3pt shooting options off the bench are Richardson and Grant. Both are bad rebounders for their positions. Add in Marcus who is also bad for his position, Jaylen who is around average and Tatum who is only above average as a 3, and you have a hideous rebounding team (also TL is slightly below/at average for a C and can't stretch, Horford is also way below average). If you had A PG rebounding like a PF... then Grant and/or Horford is fine.