According to Chris Forsberg of NBCS Boston, the Sacramento Kings asked for Marcus Smart as part of the package for veteran wing Harrison Barnes in recent negotiations. Clearly, those initial overtures were rejected, although there is still time left for the two teams to re-engage and hammer out an agreement, especially if the Celtics miss out on Aaron Gordon.
Sacramento being interested in a player of Smart’s caliber should come as no surprise, especially when considering the recent reports that Monte McNair has been unenthused by Boston’s reported offers of young players and first round picks. For the Kings, Smart would represent the exact kind of bull-headed, refuse-to-die defender that they have been missing since the days of Ron Artest, and he could also step in as an immediate replacement stopper on the wing, although he’s more of a 1-2-3, as opposed to Barnes’ 3-4 role.
Some may view such a maneuver as a win-now move, rather than a reset around De’Aaron Fox, but Smart is also nearly two years younger than Barnes, having recently turned 27, slightly younger than potential core piece Richaun Holmes. He’s currently locked up through the 2021-2022 season, due to make a hair over $14 million next year, and his difference in salary from Barnes would grant the Kings plenty of room to re-sign their starting center this offseason.
Of course, there is a concern that Smart could walk after next season, as he’s scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent, but the Kings could offer him an extension this summer, and they would also inherit his full bird rights, allowing them to go over the salary cap to retain his services in the future. And even if Sacramento lost Smart to another team, a year-and-a-half of his culture-setting ways could do quite a bit for a team lacking in winning habits.
Boston’s disinterest in moving Smart is understandable, but General Manager Danny Ainge has to be feeling the pressure to make a move at the deadline, as the Celtics have been one of the most disappointing teams in the league this season. He has the power to acquire nearly any player in the league with his massive traded player exception from the Gordon Hayward trade, which allows the Celtics to take in a huge amount of salary without sending any money back to another team, but the Kings and Celtics could potentially work around that concept.
Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report recently shared that the Celtics are considered the top suitor for Kings forward Nemanja Bjelica, and he also mentioned that Boston would consider adding Bjelica to a Barnes deal, or they may trade for him separately. If that is, in fact, the case, and if Smart is truly on the block, the two teams could come to an agreement without involving Boston’s coveted TPE. Tristan Thompson has somewhat worn out his welcome with the Celtics, and a basic package of Harrison Barnes and Nemanja Bjelica for Marcus Smart and Tristan Thompson works perfectly salary-wise, while the two teams would still likely need to quibble about any other sort of compensation going either way. Danny Ainge could reset his roster and save his TPE for the offseason, while the Kings could add a hopeful core piece in Marcus Smart.
The two organizations are running a bit short on time to work out a deal, as the NBA trade deadline expires on Thursday afternoon at noon Pacific Time.
Smart for Barnes would be a fair trade, which is why I assume that Ainge won’t consider it.
I do love his game, and his leadership. Saying he’d be a good fit here is a bit silly, since players like him fit anywhere, but that would be a real win if Barnes is to go.
Your other idea of including Bjelica and Thompson also makes a lot of sense from our perspective, but I would think that the Celtics would also see the benefit.
One day left!
Smart for Barnes straight across would not be a good move for the Kings.
Ehh..what more would you want?
Add Nesmith or their 1st
“I would like the trade to be very lopsided in the Kings’ favor.”
Amen…
I agree, we would need another asset coming back
Agreed. Thompson does little for me.
It also creates an easier path to retain Holmes:
Agreed. If we don’t draft Luka because of Fox, don’t see why we trade for Marcus Smart. That would be a deal straight from the Department of Redundancy Department.
Screw it .. it’s Time .. Blow it up .. Bagley for Luka straight up .. make it happen!
https://stathead.com/basketball/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=0&player_id1=barneha02&p1yrfrom=2021&player_id2=smartma01&p2yrfrom=2021
Straight up trade? Plus less team control…No way
Curious what we’re comparing here? I think overall they are pretty even (as far as impact), but Smart’s younger and less expensive.
You left out the most important part, Better? No. Also not much younger and not much less expensive.
To be precise, two years younger and about $6 million cheaper next season.
Nobody knows how much Ainge’s desperation (if there is any desperation) adds in here, but I bet most GMs see Smart as a better basketball player/asset than Harrison Barnes.
I guess it depends on how you view the value of these contracts. I doubt Smart would be thrilled to come to the Kings and then you’re faced with a contract decision after next season. So at that point can you sign him (should you want to) for less than $18 mil which is what Barnes will be making. Idk Smart is a little younger but he looks like he has more mileage on that body, just a subjective observation on that one.
To be fair, you’d be hard-pressed to find any player in the league who wouldn’t be disappointed about being traded to the Kings. That shouldn’t be even thought about when analyzing trades.
True for the most part but I can tell you for sure Aaron Gordon would be thrilled to come to Sacramento. I don’t think KHFC has enough in her trade proposal to get Aaron but I think the two combined trades are the right line of thinking.
I’d disagree. Barnes is having by far the best season of his career and it’s merely “above average”. Which isn’t too impressive considering what we’re paying for that privilege. I’d take mediocre offense, younger, cheaper and upgraded defense any day.
This argument is really superfluous because Barnes for Smart straight across isn’t going to happen. Ainge I think wants roster improvement now for a stretch run. Throwing Smart out there is just gorilla dust IMO. I think he’s likely to part with Langford, Nesmith and his first round pick. All assets that don’t affect his current roster. See my prediction.
Check that smart defense this year. Don’t just go on previous experience
I think most metrics would show Smart as still a plus defender, although that Boston defense has been disappointing overall.
Barnes has the third most minutes played on a roster that has been arguably one of the worst defenses in modern NBA history.
It’s interesting that this is the case, and yet the Kings aren’t at the absolute bottom in Net Rtg (at least according to B-Ref, I haven’t checked NBA.com) because their offense isn’t so horrible they can’t win. Does Harrison Barnes deserve any credit for any of that?
I would cool it with these cherry picked stats. I could say this lineup Fox, Buddy, Haliburton, Barnes, Holmes has a very positive net rating so Barnes must be adding something to the overall performance. What do all these defensive metrics mean in a vacuum. Defenses switch constantly and to measure one on one is very difficult. I don’t need stats to tell me Buddy’s off ball defense is beyond atrocious and Bagley’s is a big time work in progress. When I watch, edge to Smart on Defense but edge to Barnes on most aspects of offense.
Haliburton appears to have some potential at the defensive end, but Hield and Fox both are pretty terrible in most aspects of individual and team defense. Smart would help in that regard, especially if we could move Hield.
i agree with you regarding Haliburton and Smart.
Was just focused on the defense, but no argument that Barnes has played well this season.
Barnes also played a lot with buddy and Bagley, horrific defenders
Barnes plays a lot with everyone. Again, he’s third in minutes on the roster (and not far behind Fox and Hield in that category).
I was comparing to whom smart plays with, not within the kings roster
Far less effective offensively, plays a position we are more established at than barnes, smarts defense has fallen off some and can’t guard guys that barnes can. Smart not as healthy, contract coming up sooner without rights.
Big fat ass no from me if it’s straight up
Your first point is well taken, however our roster doesn’t really need him for his offense. And I’m not certain I’d agree that his defense has fallen off (from any type of mileage/physical issues). The Kings would have his Bird Rights as well (per the article).
This would require moving on from Buddy, and hopefully McNair will figure out a way to make that happen. But there’s 96 minutes in the backcourt, and I’d be perfectly happy going forward in the future with Fox/Hali and Smart eating the bulk of those minutes.
You’ve stated many times that buddy is untradable.
So how do you square idk near 50% of cap or more invested in just the two guard spots?
It doesn’t make sense to flip them straight up unless we get a real additional asset
wut
another data point that suggests this team is threading the needle. Also, if the Kings were to trade for Smart, then they could move Buddy to the super 6th man role he’s ultimately destined to fulfill.
at this point Buddy is just a chucker to me. being on the 2nd unit would get him more of his favorite thing:
Shots shots shots shots shots
Shots shots shots shots shots
Shots shots shots shots shots
Shots
he did not do that when he was the 6th man last season. He played some of his best basketball in that role.
I agree with that.
and 2 years ago he played even better than last year. IMO he peaked already and can no longer shoot anything but 3s effectively. He surely can’t/won’t defend against starting nba guards. I don’t know how much of his regression to being only a 3 point threat is coaching/scheme related but to me that’s what he has become.
honestly, I believe Buddy just has a mindset issue. He’ll be productive as soon as he accepts his role.
Aw – you’ve solved it, he can’t and doesn’t understand defense because he won’t accept his role. Man, that’s a beauty.
huh?
They could already move him to that role…
Because … he was totally all for it last year?
There is no scenario in which Buddy will willingly play sixth man on a team coached by Luke Walton.
I mean I doubt he’ll just hold out and get fined instead.
Or Dave Joerger. Or whoever the next coach is. Time to move on from Buddy.
Finally some evidence that Monte is a Smart guy!
This is the kind of deal I can get behind. I wasn’t very enthused with the other offers I was hearing about but getting back Smart would be something Kings fans would absolutely love.
With that being said, Boston says no.
Yeah, I’m curious what else would need to go along with a Barnes for Smart deal.
As am I, actually.
If we gave more then we got robbed
Yeah…fuck that. WE do the robbing!
No???ð¤·ï¸
SOME Kings fans … not me … because I live over here in Reality World, where we don’t need two point guards (three, counting Hali) and then would have to fill a gaping hole at small forward.
Yep!
Kings would have been fleeced again if Vlade is still the GM!
So I think the Kings want to make a deal but they also want to stay in a position to make a run at a playin spot. I also think Boston is trying to get relevant this year. My prediction.
Celtics get Bjelica, Barnes and Whiteside
Kings get 2021 first round pick, Nesmith, Langford and Thies
Kings then trade first round pick, Guy, Landford, and a second for Gordon.
I don’t think Ainge gives up Smart or anything that weakens the roster. This trade allows him to improve his roster significantly without giving up anything contributors from his current roster. The Kings get younger, a little cheaper and still feel they have a roster that can compete for a playin spot.
Langford is not now nor will ever be a decent NBA player ! He was terrible with the G league , Maine Red Claws !
I think you’re close on this but I’m not sure that’s enough to snatch Gordon from Orlando. They would however go into the offseason with Fultz, Cole, Langford, Issac, Vucivic, 2 first round picks and some cap space. Who knows?
I would love this move. It will show how desperate Danny Ainge is if he lets Smart go. He seems to be the anchor of that team.
My prediction is Barnes ends up in Boston and the Celtics keep Smart.
Do Ainge and the Celtics face some pressure to use all or some of the trade exception by March 25? Sure. You can’t hold any asset that rates as the biggest in NBA history without focusing extra interest on what becomes of it.
Add Boston’s lackluster performance that has them barely above .500 and flirting with a lower playoff seed, with the much loftier expectations for this group, and fans expect to see some moves, now or certainly before the exception slips away.
terrible deal if we don’t get an additional asset
Marcus Smart as part of the package…
This is not talking about a one for one trade, this is talking about Marcus Smart being a part of the deal.
Smart would be great for this team.
The other part of that package could be Tristan Thompson’s deal.
I just remembered that the Kings actually offered Smart a contract a couple years back. Did he accept it and get matched or was he using us to get a better deal? I cant remember…
depends on what sources you believe. https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2018/07/boston_celtics_marcus_smart_no_3.html
jason jones says we never offered him anything
Look at the date. I don’t believe Jason Jones still works for the Bee, but I might be mistaken on that point. Also, I don’t believe it’s January 2019 either. But I also might be mistaken on that point as well.
jones works for the Athletic not the bee. the date is from when Smart was a FA. im not sure what points you are making?
I misread your comment and the reply it was to. My bad.
I don’t mind this trade on paper but man, Marcus Smart is one of those players the makes my soul die a little bit every time I watch him play. His signature move of “covering the jewels and cheesing a charge call” is every bit as infuriating as Harden’s leg kicks.
This would make the Kings a much better defensive team and I think Holmes-Bagley?-Smart-Hali-Fox is probably a decent line-up so I guess I can live with it. I’ll even try to pretend that he isn’t a flop artist.
I would not pull the trigger on a straight up Barnes for Smart trade. Now if we also added an asset like Nesmith or the Bos 1st then sure. Straight up Barnes for Smart doesn’t move the needle and he is under shorter team control.
Plus his known commodity of defense has been non-existent on his current stretch of games since returning to the lineup
Yeah straight up makes absolutely no sense for the Kings.
I”d be careful about this Nesmith call. I have not seen enough of him to make an educated call but keep in mind he can’t break into the lineup and someone who was drafted below him is getting decent minutes.
They play different positions, that matters a ton.
You don’t judge Nesmith on his production or lack thereof during his rookie year sitting behind two all-stars.
If your referring to Tatum, I think you need to research Nesmith a little more. Nevertheless, the all stars are pretty versatile players so if the Celtics felt Nesmith had something to offer, they’d find minutes for him.
If you don’t think both slot in minutes at the 3 I don’t know what to tell you
This positional distinction argument you’re trying to make is really outdated thinking and meaningless. If you however want to play this archaic game, Pritchard plays off ball a lot and had to earn playing time among Walker, Teague, and Edwards, and throw in Nesmith because when Kemba is on the court, when Stevens makes his choice between Nesmith and Pritchard he’s not thinking about Brown and Tatum he’s thinking about playing his better player.
the Stevens understander has logged on
The numbskull fan with nothing of substance has just commented.
Well thank you. Those Lady Braves know their basketball.
lol do you think you’re replying to the actual Kayte Hunter?
Replying to someone who knows a hell of lot more about basketball than you. That’s a pretty easy call.
huh?
That’s the deepest post you’ve had in a long time
thank you
Edwards is trash and teague us a vet min dude.
C’mon man, you’re too easy
He’s averaging 15mpg despite playing behind Smart, Brown, and Tatum. He’s looked good so far. I’d be happy to get Nesmith back.
He’s appeared in 22 games and Pritchard has appeared in 37 games. The only games Pritchard hasn’t played in were due to injury. Heretofore Pritchard has been the preferable option over Nesmith and it’s not even close. You could continue to play the meaningless positional argument if it makes you feel better but so far there’s something Stevens is seeing in Nesmith that is giving him pause especially during meaningful minutes. With that said, I haven’t seen enough of Nesmith to personally judge and neither have you but we can certainly say he’s not knocking it out of the park with the Boston brass so far.
if you haven’t seen enough of Nesmith to personally judge, then maybe avoid assuming everyone else is in the same boat.
Well tell us about him. I guess you’ve been watching the Celtic practices.
yeah I’m there every day with my dunkin’ iced coffee, listening to Dropkick Murphys, and yuckin it up with Brian Scalabrine. you’re missing out TBH.
And eatin’ some wicked chowdah
Pp is not the preferred option over nesmith bro….nesmith isn’t a pg facilitator
For a coach you don’t understand the nba game much, this isn’t your d3 hs league where positions don’t matter
You’re caught in a paradigm, I can’t help you anymore. Why don’t you break down Nesmith’s game for that rordog. He needs help.
That paradigm where successful nba teams still have a facilitating guard, some wings and a big on the court almost at all times? Yeah I’m there…
I see Boston pulling the trigger for Barnes before the deadline but I don’t see them trading Smart for it.
This is likely an Ainge leak to drive up the value of Smart in a Gordon deal.
It feels as though Monte is bargaining from a position of power and asking a lot back. I like that.
Pure speculation here but Smart does not want to be in Sac and would almost certainly leave after this season. He seems like the type of guy who would take a paycut to be on a championship team – his focus is winning. Would he really want to come off the bench for the kings? I’m just not seeing it.
He’s got another year on his contract after this one. That aside, I think worrying about that type of thing should be way down the list of considerations.
If the team improves the roster (and coaching staff), this type of thinking will change.
I remember another player who didn’t want to be in Sacramento and threatened to sit out the remaining three years of his contract until we called his bluff.
Papa Mayce was pretty important in helping IV get off the pot after taking his shit, too, or so I’ve seen it said anyway.
My point is that it was both, ultimately.
luckily Kosta came around eventually
Having Smart for two years is certainly better than one year so I’ll give you that. As I said, pure speculation on my part. However, everything should be considered when you’re analyzing a trade – especially what the player wants . What’s the point if we strongly think he’s going to leave after two years or request a trade?
I just don’t see Smart wanting to come off the bench in Sac while we rebuild for the next few years. If he starts, then maybe he would be more amenable to the situation, but I think next year Fox/Hali start and Smart is too small for the 3. Don’t get me wrong, I would love Smart to be on the kings because I think he would help everyone else get better defensively. I just don’t think its a good trade idea doing Barnes for Smart straight up.
I don’t know why we would assume Smart would want out any more than any other player we try to acquire?
I suppose if you hear from an agent “don’t bother to try to re-sign my client”, that’s one thing, but I’d work from the assumption that most good players would need to be convinced to stay.
Edited to add: Smart is 7th on the Celtics roster in minutes played. My guess is that wouldn’t be the case in Sacramento.
[checks Kings Twitter at trade deadline]
Thinks to self, how can I be disappointed when I expect nothing to happen?
Brain responds, because you are a Kings fan, you idiot. Disappointment is your fandom!
I like that. Ask for something that helps you, whether it helps the other guy is their problem. Set a high bar. Marcus Smart is a high bar. Simple, that.
Rrades are evaluated strangely. Proper evaluation should not be did you get what I speculate you could have?
It should be, how well did this trade advance the team’s goal. Shedding Vlade’s crap contracts has value. Increasing other asset value has value. Cap flexibility has value. There is more to just you got this and I got that to trade analysis.
(this isn’t really directed at you, as I agree with your premise to do what helps you. It’s in response to Twitter and trade articles and comments in general.)
Well, strangely enough, I wholeheartedly agree with it so I’m fully 100% on board with it. By all means, keep preaching this.
There’s more than one way to skin a cat. Or so I’m told. I don’t like cats much, skinning them offers me no intrinsic or entertainment value in any way.
Still worth it for the ribs.
This explains a great deal about you, Sims.
Yes, agree, plus the front office establishing a good relationship with players around the league by doing Barnes a solid, as noted in my recent comment.
The Kings would be wise to move Barnes to a playoff contender. He’s a veteran, and the Kings would be helping him by getting him to a better team. For the Kings, there is a significant intangible benefit, as players around the league see the team treating him well. It sets a positive example that helps attract free agents in the future. Not A-List ones, of course, but lesser ones who could play an important role here. It is the sort of thing a mature, well run NBA franchise does.
We are talking about getting better. Kings + Smart is better short term, and long term, than Kings + Barnes. No other through in’s needed. The ability to gather better, younger talent is the first step in obtaining a better team.
There is no need to overthink this. If the C’s want to trade straight up, you do it, it’s a clear no brainer.
whoever downvoted me, lets fight.
You won’t
just in case it wasn’t noticeable. this was only a joke. i love everyone. im a lover, not a fighter.
I’ll still stick a shoe in your mouth to shut you up, if you want. 🙂
Disagree big time and don’t think it’s close
i just don’t see the arugment. smart is a better younger player. the only anti i can see here is that position may be questionable. however.. if our goal as a team is to get better.. then you do that by obtaining the better player. i think Smart is the better player, and allows for better flexibility than Barnes.
It’s not that Barnes is a bad player, it’s just that Smart is better and younger. And lets be honest, this year, Barnes is playing above average from what we’ve seen.
Other than the fact they’d be worse with Smart. Three point guards and no small forwards does not help in any way.
You think anyone believes McNair would deal for Smart then just close up shop on the rest of the roster?
Barnes has mostly played power forward this season, by the way.
since when did we live in a bubble? and honestly.. so? so we end up with Smart playing the 3 the rest of the year, what does that mean in a season thats a gap year, and we are vying for draft position. we can fill the wing spot during the summer hopefully with that high pick. i wouldn’t care if we rolled out Fox, Hali, Whiteside at the 3, the Ghost of Alex Len at 4, and Bagley with one arm at the 5.
This isn’t the roster we are playing with.
And arguably, Smart is a better asset long term. even if he wasn’t in the future plans, he becomes pretty attractive next year to flip for a pick(s), or more young talent.
Smart on an expiring is not a better asset then Barnes with a year of team control. Sorry dude, that’s just not the case
you’re wrong, but please elaborate.
Kevin!
I would be really curious to hear what FO’s think (As I always would). I’m just guessing, but my feeling is that if you had asked people around the league who the better asset was in early-January, it would be pretty lopsided in Smart’s favor. Then Barnes had a career month in January, Smart got hurt, and the Celtics have struggled, and here we are debating it. So, ultimately, I think the question is exactly how much weight FOs give those 3 bits of data (Barnes’ spike, Smart’s injury, and Smart’s role in the Celtics’ struggles.).
Sure, I was speaking specifically about value for return at the deadline NEXT season.
Barnes with an extra year of team control > Smart as expiring
my favorite rant all time was a Celtics fan a few years ago who went off for about 25 minutes about why the team should resign Smart. How much better the team was with him instead of Kyrie. The success of the team with Smart compared to without him. Remember when he was the last player to sign in free agency? Yeah, then. I think it’s been pulled off the net. If you find it, listen to it. It’s a real treat.
I keep forgetting about all of the success the Celtics enjoyed while Irving was there.
From the guy’s rant, the team was worse with Irving. The fan wasn’t any shmuck either. I forget the details, but I think when Smart got injured, the team was awful (like recently?). He went back to Isaiah Thomas days also. Ever since I heard that rant, I see Smart as the engine for that team, and nothing has changed it.
At this point, I think it seems more likely that Ainge negotiates himself into nothing and the Celtics don’t get something done than either of Barnes or Gordon donning the green.
I can’t speak for Orlando’s situation, but as it relates to the Kings, I think your prediction is entirely likely.
It’s going to be Barnes, Bjelly and Holmes for Smart and a platter of shit, isn’t it?
Remember, Kangz fans, we CANNOT make any move that takes the ball out of Fox’s hands.
I assume that if that rule applies to not drafting Luka Doncic, it also applies to trading for Marcus Smart.
Folks, this thread is about NBA trades, not trading barbs and negative vibes when you disagree on something.
You know, I’m not generally one for meta arguments, but I have to say I feel like the general tone of discourse has taken a clear nose-dive around here recently.
you sit on a throne of lies.
It’s always your fault Perry!
Seems like a couple folks who seem to love attacking people rather than simply disagreeing with them. Tale as old as time sadly. I guess it’s to be expected as this place continues to grow. I’m just grateful that the hardcore racists seem to have stayed over at the old site.
Sactown Royalty…the Parler of Kings sports blogs. 😉
I pop back in periodically to see what’s happening and… yikes. The threads from last summer were gross.
Only one of them over there, might be Bagley’s dad tbh
Kangz fans, remember … those of you excited about Marcus Smart … he plays the exact same position as Mr. Max.
And we’d have a gaping hole at small forward.
This is not a good deal for the Kangz, much less the Kings.
PLOT TWIST.. we have potential draft pick to fill the win spot.
PLOT TWIST … we suck at drafting. Go back 10 years to 2011 and see how many superstars we’ve drafted in the last decade, then tell me why I should be excited about Sacramento making a draft pick.
Never let the facts get in the way off a good post!
The mistakes of past front office drafts have no real bearing on this FO’s ability.
well, then i guess let’s pack it in. We can’t draft, we can’t trade, our team sucks.
What are we doing here exactly?
We’re all gonna die. DUH!!!!!
Not disputing the Kings’ draft history under GMs not called McNair, but how many actual superstars do you think have been drafted in that timeframe? I’m not talking about guys on a fluke year making an all-star team, but actual dominant superstars who’ve been absolute money for most of their careers?
There isn’t a superstar in every draft.
really unless your name is Lebron, there hasn’t been a true “drafted” superstar on any roster. all of these guys develop under the right situations.
Now you could argue the Kings, are not, and never have been a good situation to develop anything other than a cold… but that’s a different arguments.
but to answer the original question.. several players have been drafted here, that with the right coaching and support could be/could have been superstars. Cousins, Reke, Fox, IT.. ect..
LaBradford CC’s 2021 Draft Guide:
