00:00The Rockets made a couple of moves to get, to me, I would imagine bench players, we'll
00:12see how Marcus Smart is thought to be used, but I would imagine bench players and on the
00:21depth charts, they have him in the backup role with Fred Van Fleet behind him, but they
00:28signed him to a two-year, $13 million deal, and I'm curious, I'm curious your thoughts,
00:35713-572-416, YouTube and Twitch as well, and I'm curious of yours, Clint, when you saw
00:42the move, you saw them land Marcus Smart, Marcus Smart, who is a former defensive player of
00:49the year, which he did, I believe, when he was with Emei Udoka, when he was with the Boston
00:56Celtics, and it's a hell of a feat, just guys aren't coming from guards, it's generally
01:03guys who block shots, and generally like that, like Wimby, but he was able to win defensive
01:08player of the year from a guard perspective, but he's usually been thought of as a tough-minded
01:16defensive player, not as much known for his offensive game, but what was your thoughts
01:21when you saw them bring him in?
01:23Look, I like the move, I like Marcus Smart.
01:27I think it is a, the problem that people have with it, and the problem that I have with it,
01:32with the Rockets in general, not necessarily this move, is I'm looking for a raise the ceiling
01:38move, Marcus Smart is a raise the floor move.
01:41For me, Marcus Smart is, he does fit or fill a void that I think the Rockets needed filled
01:51badly, the veteran that's an absolute dog, that excels on the defensive end of the floor,
01:56that brings a level of attitude and physicality, that's played long enough, and I don't know
02:03him well enough as a teammate, but what you would think would help develop some of these
02:09young guys.
02:09We saw what Dylan Brooks, more so, we talked less about what Dylan Brooks did for the team
02:16when he was here, and we saw more of what Dylan Brooks meant to this team once he was gone.
02:22I think Marcus Smart fills that void.
02:24I think the floor of this basketball team, I think, moved up.
02:30I think the floor of this basketball team is higher than it was before Marcus Smart.
02:34I don't think Marcus Smart changes the ceiling of this team, unfortunately.
02:38So, that's where Marcus Smart also has a hard time looking at it and getting mad about the move.
02:43If you want to get mad because that's the move they make and other teams are getting Kawhi Leonard
02:48and somebody's going to get LeBron and, you know, the guys that are going elsewhere, then
02:53I understand that.
02:54But just in a vacuum, a Rockets vacuum of how does Marcus Smart fit in, I think he's a good
03:01fit and there was a need here in Houston for him.
03:03Text line coming in.
03:04We got a Dylan Brooks replacement.
03:09I can get behind the stuff you're saying about Dylan Brooks.
03:14Now, I also want to say Dylan Brooks was 28 and 29 years old in those two years he was
03:18here with the Rockets,
03:19and this is a player over his 30s.
03:22And the other thing that Dylan Brooks brought to the table is in two years,
03:26he shot 36% and 39% from three.
03:30That is not what Marcus Smart is bringing to the table.
03:33He's bringing a lot of the intangibles and the toughness that Dylan Brooks did,
03:40but he's not bringing the shooting that Dylan Brooks did.
03:43And that's what I said in that first segment.
03:44If you were listening, I see Cornbread say,
03:46Smart is decent.
03:47He can play defense and run point.
03:51I agree with all of those things.
03:52I'm just saying, when you sit and thought about, like, what this team needs to bring in,
04:00and sure, maybe they've got a plan for something else.
04:03When you thought about what this team needs to bring in,
04:07I don't care if it was from the starting perspective or coming off the bench.
04:11You needed shooting.
04:13Like, they need shooting.
04:16We saw it in the post.
04:17We saw it.
04:18They need shooting.
04:20Be a player that is going to be a major part of their rotation.
04:24And he adds to the below-average shooting.
04:29That's going to be a major part of your rotation.
04:31So unless you're not making any major moves, you add another one.
04:37A men Thompson, below-average shooter.
04:39Shingun, below-average shooter.
04:41Now Marcus Smart adds in there, below-average shooter.
04:44Like, you're continuing to add that in.
04:49And I just, it feels like such a Udoka move.
04:53Like, it feels like such a, oh, man, I'm going to bring in the, you know, the tough guy.
04:57And that's fine.
04:58But this team needs shooting.
05:01And the part that...
05:02Well, they can't be done.
05:02I hope not.
05:03The part that blew it for me is the same...
05:06These guys were on the same team last year.
05:09And Luke Kennard, he goes on a two-year, identical, two-year, $13 million deal to another West team, the
05:18Phoenix Suns.
05:20Last year, Luke Kennard was number one in the NBA in three-point shooting.
05:25He shot 48% from three.
05:28Marcus Smart shot 39% from the field.
05:3333% from three.
05:36Like, Luke Kennard, they needed to add that.
05:40And I'm just saying, I don't know what Luke's options was.
05:44I mean, if I'm Luke, to me, I'm thinking, boy, KD, Shingun, boy, I don't know.
05:49That feels like a place that would be nice for me.
05:52A team that is in a better place to win, if I'm offering the same type of deal.
05:58That, like, that...
05:59Well, let's be honest.
06:01The Rockets are in a position to where a guy like Kennard, you may want to overpay a little bit
06:06to get him in here.
06:07Yeah.
06:08Like, you might want to outpay Phoenix to get him in here.
06:12So, yeah, I agree.
06:13I can't look at this and think this is the only move.
06:16I mean, there's got, to your point, another guy that the defense can sag off on the defensive end of
06:21the floor
06:21and just let shoot threes or let miss threes is not ideal for the Rockets.
06:25Oh, and Udoka's going to have him on the floor because he's going to trust him.
06:30Yeah, well, I mean, look, again, I mean, you go back to what we watched last year.
06:35I know last year should not be the bar, right?
06:38But I was blown away last year watching the Rockets how many times guys did not know where to go,
06:44how to get there, what was going on.
06:46And we can blame that on Udoka.
06:48No question about it.
06:48I did and I have and I will.
06:50However, there's also an IQ that plays into it here.
06:54And the IQ, I would think, with a guy like Marcus Smart on the floor would go up considerably
06:59given what we watched last year.
07:01So, I think there are some pluses and I like the move.
07:04I agree wholeheartedly with you and I think everybody else, though,
07:07that the Rockets have to find shooting and find a lot of it,
07:10not just one or two guys that may be able to shoot.
07:14Now, I do agree with this person on the text line saying maybe this is a potential
07:20that maybe Fred's knee may not be ready to go yet.
07:24We hope.
07:25According to Fred, though, it exploded.
07:27Yeah.
07:28Yeah, it exploded.
07:29Now, again, if Marcus Smart is the fault of this is a Tank Dale situation
07:35and he's going to miss some more time this year and you bring in Marcus Smart,
07:40that's fine.
07:40You're still in the space of now, you've got Marcus Smart and you've got
07:46Amin Thompson and you've got Shingun all on the floor as non-shooters.
07:51Tari Eason, yeah.
07:54You keep him like as non-shooters.
07:56So, then you've got KD and Auburn in the corner, right?
08:00Yeah, Jabari's shooters.
08:02I mean, a similar worst situation, to be honest with you,
08:06rather than Reed or Eason because both of them are better shooters.
08:11At least statistically, the Marcus Smart.
08:13Again, I'm hoping it's not the only move, but they run out of players
08:19and they run out of moves because we're seeing a lot of things happen
08:24with their situation.
08:27I just thought for sure, boy, they're going to really hunt down adding shooting
08:31to this group.
08:33And, hell, even in the draft, they went up and moved up to go get Thornton,
08:37and he's a good player, but he's not necessarily sure.
08:39So, now they just had a third point guard with Bruce Thornton and Marcus Smart.
08:46So, I don't know, man.
08:48I don't know.
08:48Maybe, again, there's a plan where I would – I hope that I come out here
08:52and I'm like, all right, man.
08:54Boy, they were switching the pieces around to make this happen,
08:58to bring in this type of player.
09:00But, I don't know.
09:01I don't know.
09:02I just can't see – I know we talked about this and maybe it's –
09:05I just can't.
09:05I just don't see Marcus Smart as the primary ball handler.
09:12I mean, that's –
09:13But you mentioned, like, it's one thing to be a point when you got Luka
09:18and LeBron handling the ball.
09:20It's the point when you got – who was it?
09:22Tatum and Jalen Brown handling the ball.
09:25Like, that's – okay, you want to call it a point, that's fine.
09:27But when I say – when I hear point, I'm thinking Chris Paul.
09:30I'm thinking Van Vliet when he's healthy.
09:32I'm thinking primary ball handler that's facilitating and, to your point,
09:36shooting.
09:37Like, I just – I mean, is it something that he could play the two?
09:41I mean, he'd be an undersized non-shooting two.
09:45Dog, dog, dog.
09:46Yeah, but again, it's right –
09:49But it's right – but it's right.
09:50It seems like this is exactly what – like, oh, man, you doke his craving.
09:55Yeah.
09:57Like, his thought, Tyler, was not, we need more shooters.
10:00No.
10:01These guys ain't tough enough.
10:01We need more – we need more tough guys.
10:04Rapid – tie their right arms behind their backs.
10:07I'm sure he knows what he's doing.
10:08I mean – I mean – but again, maybe they're – maybe they're just putting puzzle pieces
10:13around each other for me to –
10:15Big move.
10:15Fingers crossed.
10:16Big move coming.
10:17Yeah.
10:17Big move coming.
10:18Yeah.
10:18Maybe Steph's coming.
10:19I got your back, Rafael.
10:21Get that turd out of here.
10:23Rafael, you don't believe – you don't believe that yourself.
10:25What would you go with, Rafael, Rafael, or Raphael?
10:29Whatever my mama told me to say it.
10:30Here we go.
10:30Okay.
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