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Knicks Trade Rumors: Pros and Cons of potentially trading for Marcus Smart

By Maxwell Ogden

BOSTON, MA - MAY 17: Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Celtics reacts in the second half against the Cleveland Cavaliers during Game One of the 2017 NBA Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on May 17, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - MAY 17: Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Celtics reacts in the second half against the Cleveland Cavaliers during Game One of the 2017 NBA Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on May 17, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 04: Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Celtics handles the ball against the Washington Wizards in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at Verizon Center on May 4, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 04: Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Celtics handles the ball against the Washington Wizards in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at Verizon Center on May 4, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) /

Con: Point Guard Skills

Throughout his basketball career, Marcus Smart has been labeled as a Swiss army knife of a guard. He offers positives on both ends of the floor, but hasn’t polished any one area of his game in a way that makes it an elite strength.

That includes his skills at the point guard position, as Smart is more of a passer than a facilitator at this current juncture.

The presence of Frank Ntilikina lessens the impact of the blow here, but it’s still a flaw worth evaluating. Smart has been admittedly limited in his ball-handling duties, but there’s no guaranteeing that he’ll be able to run an NBA offense.

That rational skepticism is reason to believe that he isn’t the ideal point guard to be featured in Jeff Hornacek’s motion offense.

There are signs of promise and potential, as Smart averaged a career-high 5.5 assists per 36 minutes in 2016-17. He also recorded an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.29, which further supports the belief that he could succeed at running point.

This is based more off of projections than established ability, however, and that’s a risk that New York would have to be willing to take.

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