Will Marcus Smart Move The Needle For The Lakers? | Rachel Nichols & Chris Mannix

Will Marcus Smart Move The Needle For The Lakers? | Rachel Nichols & Chris Mannix

All right, let’s talk about the Lakers then because if it is a day that ends in Y, we have to talk about the Lakers. Uh Marcus Smart waved by the Washington Wizards. He immediately signs a two-year deal, player option on the second year for uh Marcus Smart. Uh Marcus has had a rough go of it the last couple of years. Only played 54 games between Memphis and Washington the last two years. Um he’s certainly not the defensive player of the year guy. we saw what was it about five years ago now but he still is a pretty productive defensive player at least the clip or as Lakers are hoping so I’ll ask you kind of the same question like how big and how significant of a pickup is Marcus Smart I mean I just don’t know enough to answer that right now I I don’t know what condition he’s going to be in because he hasn’t played a ton I don’t know where his defensive chops are at the moment I mean I am a huge Marcus Smart believer you and I both loved how he played in Boston But it is hard to know exactly what the Lakers are getting. There is completely a best case scenario, but there is also a worst case scenario. I know he’s a great locker room guy, so so that’s good. Um, but I just I can’t really eval I don’t know. It’s hard for me to sit here and say this is this is how it’s going to be because we just haven’t seen enough of a his durability going forward and b sort of where the defense is at the moment. I I think he’s going to have to play it out for us to figure out if this was a good move or not. I mean, to me, to me, the biggest reaction has been pretty funny, seeing all the Celtics fans who who just are are are beside themselves that Marcus Smart would be in the Lakers uniform. Yeah, that’s not going to go over well. Uh, in Boston, the one time the Lakers visit next year, that’s for sure. But if you’re the Lakers, I think it’s a really smart, sorry, poor choice of words, right choice of words, smart flyer for them to take on Marcus Smart. Uh it’s not a big contract as we mentioned. Uh basically a two-year deal at at a very low number by today’s NBA standards. No doubt Marcus Smart has lost a step defensively. I don’t think at this point of his career he’s quick enough anymore to defend pure point guards or the faster guards in the conference. I’m talking about guys like De’ar Fox, Shay Guildis Alexander, Steph Curry, Anthony Edwards, Jamal Murray. I think he’d have a tough time doing that. At the same time, he’s still capable of guarding the bulkier two guards, uh, the stronger three men. And look, we’ve seen him at times defend fours and fives in in certain situations. He’s a really good, you know, in in Boston where they ran a lot of guard forward screens. He set ball screens in Boston and and I think that’s still going to be of value to the Lakers and as is his ability to catch and shoot. like he I think he was around 35% last year from three between the two teams that he was on. Um if he can be that kind of three-point shooter and not have some of his crazier moments where he starts chucking up threes like he’s Steph, I I think that he can still be he can be a real part of that rotation because you look at the way their back court is shaping up right now. Like Luca’s a minus defender, Austin Reeves is a minus defender. Um, you’ve got Jared Vanderbilt in the rotation that can conceivably defend backcourt guys, can defend back court guys, but his health is always in question. You get Marcus Martin. Look, if you can squeeze 60 games out of him next year and he’s able to be like 75% of the player he was in Boston, that’s a guy that’s going to play real minutes for you. That’s a guy that might even start for you. You know, if you do like a a three-ish guard lineup with Smart Reeves and LeBron in in the or sorry, Luca in the in the on the perimeter and play LeBron more at power forward, whoever at center, like you’re I think you’ve got u I think you’ve got a decent mix there. I think that’s an it’s an ad. It’s it’s a significant ad, I think, for the Lakers if Marcus Smart can give them something. I think the one downside though is you know, you went to a lot of Lakers games. So did I. Like I Jordan Goodwin’s not bad. That’s literally what I was about to ask you. Marcus Smart isn’t Marcus Smart is a name brand, right? Um Jordan Goodwin is more sort of if you’re live in the LA area and you see him play a lot, you realize quite how good it is he is or talk to coaches who who bring him up. Is the Marcus Smart acquisition good enough for you that you’re going to match that up against Jordan Goodwin? I don’t know. Somebody is going to scoop Jordan Goodwin up and and I’m curious to see how he plays next year. It’s probably going to be a situation where he’s gonna play an enhanced role. So, we’re gonna get the real breath of of Jordan Goodwin’s talents. Marcus Mer, I think, is more versatile defensively certainly. Uh, but Jordan Goodwin may have a higher ceiling at this point. He’s a young guy who’s only going to get better in uh in the years ahead. I look, you asked me before about like which of the two LA teams, their rosters I liked. I like the Lakers a because of the likely durability of their two stars compared to the history that Kawhai has. and to a lesser degree, James Harden. Um, but I also think that the upside for the Lakers is more significant. I I think that Marcus, if he can get back to being again 75 80% of the guy he was in Boston, and I think we even talked about Maxi Cleber like coming back next year. Maxi Cleber went to the finals playing opposite Luca Donuch, right? Like he’s he’s a a three-point shooter who can defend multiple front court positions. Like I think at some point I I think Maxi Clever is a better fit to start off with Jackson Hayes personally. I you know or not start I guess but but to take the minutes. Yeah, DeAndre Aton is going to be the starter there. But I just think and throw eight in that mix too like you know what’s his upside? Does he get reinvigorated playing for a contender once again and you know kind of fighting back or against the doubters I’ve been among them that that that believe he’s not um you know he’s not as good as the numbers that he’s been uh putting up. But, you know, Cleber coming off the bench, Marcus Smart either starting or coming off the bench, um, it’s not bad. Like, if that team was in the Eastern Conference, we’d be talking to them as a top four team. Like, that’s I know it’s the West. It’s going to be a rock fight every every game, but I look at that team and I say, “All right, I can see them being a top five team in the West to finish the regular season.” Yeah, 100%. Yeah. No, I think it’s super interesting and I just I I I just need to wait a little bit to see what Marcus is bringing to the table at this point in his career. But you and I know how gritty he is, you know, how much effort he’s going to give, how good he’s going to be in the locker room. And if there’s anyone who can maximize him in whatever current state he’s in, that’s JJ Reic. I mean, I just think he’s going to use him in exactly the right way. So, I’m I’m fascinated. I think both of both teams I mean, it’s it’s a hard question only because both teams are really set up in an interesting way. And you know, we we talked last week about, you know, I I just don’t believe LeBron James is leaving the Lakers. If you’re talking about a team that can compete now, the Lakers, I mean, they might not be favored, but you never know what happens with teams as you go through a season and injuries and this and that, no one expected the Pacers to be in the finals. I if if you told me at the end of the year the Lakers were in the finals because of, by the way, I just want to make this caveat, because of what might happen to some of the other teams. It’s not crazy, right? So, I I just I again I don’t believe LeBron is going anywhere and I think part of the reason is this is a team that has a really super interesting roster and Murka Smart adds to that. This is the year and I feel like we say this every year, but this is the year that if I’m Rod Pelanka, if I’m JJ Reic, I’m sitting down with LeBron and I’m saying you’re maxing out at 65 games this year and you’re maxing out at 30 minutes per game this year. like the if you’re going to give yourself a chance, you’ve got to get the very best of LeBron James in the playoffs. And I know he wants to play Rachel. I know he’d play all 82 or 79 of them, whatever it may be. And I know he wants when he’s out there on the floor, he doesn’t want to play on any kind of minutes restriction, but we’ve seen that he can run out of gas the last couple of years. You get into the postseason and every for every series is going to be a street fight, you know, for the Lakers and for every other team in the conference. I I would say, “Look, we’ll get you to if you really care about all NBA and that stuff, we’ll get you to 65 games, but that’s it. Like, that’s it. We’re we’re we’re stopping it right there. We’ve got to give you 17 games off to make sure that you’re uh I think my math’s right there. Yeah, 17 games off to make sure that you’re as rested as you possibly can be. And I’m sorry, but 30 minutes a game is your ceiling. We want to keep all your minutes in the 20s.” Like, that’s He’s age 41. He’s an age 41 season. You’ve got I mean, are you with me on that one? Like you’ve got to have a conversation with LeBron to say, “Hey man, we’ve got a pretty good team. We think we’ve got Luca Donuch who strapped the team to his back and got him to the finals two seasons ago, but we’ve got you’re our second best player. We’ve got to make sure that you are 100% when we get to April.” Yeah, I I absolutely think you’re right. Also, I know the last coach the Lakers had thought he had reached an agreement with LeBron on that exact thing and LeBron blew through the minutes restriction and kept saying, “I don’t want to come out of the game. I want to come back in.” I I think it is hard for a coach even, you know, with with the symbiosis that JJ and LeBron have if in the moment LeBron James wants to keep playing and does not want to come out of the game and wants to go back in when he’s taken a blow, like I that is a really difficult position for a coach to look at him and say, “No, screw you.” And the repercussions of that go way beyond that one game, obviously. So, I yes, they need to sit down and have that conversation. I I completely agree with you. It is what I would do if I was running that team. It is up to LeBron if he wants to listen and play ball and and we’ll just have to see because it is what would be in his ultimate best interest. I I just think there’s no question about that. It would help his team get further in the playoffs and by the way keep him healthy because we’ve seen in the past few years he hasn’t been quite as durable as he was early in his career because you know that’s how aging works. But he’s got to want it. It’s like you know you can’t make someone quit smoking. They’ve got to want to quit smoking. I I kind of see it the same way. They can have all the talks they want with him. He either buys in or he doesn’t. The quit smoking. I had to think about that for a second, but you’re right. Yes, it is the Yeah. You ever You ever had someone close to you want them to quit smoking? It’s It’s not going to happen until they want to. Yeah, I agree with

Chris Mannix and Rachel Nichols break down the Lakers signing Marcus Smart and if the 2022 defensive player of the year can be a difference maker for the team in a stacked western conference
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