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Brooklyn Nets rumors: Sean Marks, Marcus Smart talk in Las Vegas?

By Phil Watson

BROOKLYN, NY - JANUARY 6: Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Celtics shoots the ball against the Brooklyn Nets on January 6, 2018 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
BROOKLYN, NY - JANUARY 6: Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Celtics shoots the ball against the Brooklyn Nets on January 6, 2018 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Per new Brooklyn Nets rumors, GM Sean Marks was seen in Las Vegas Monday night talking to someone who looked a lot like Boston Celtics restricted free agent guard Marcus Smart.

The latest Brooklyn Nets rumors have a little bit of “I, Spy” intrigue, with a photo circulating on social media that looks a lot like Boston Celtics restricted free agent guard Marcus Smart and his agent talking Monday night to Nets GM Sean Marks.

The Nets have cap space, somewhere in the neighborhood of $11 million. Smart doesn’t have a deal yet, though the Celtics would have the right to match any offer sheet for the four-year veteran that was the sixth overall pick by Boston in the 2014 NBA Draft.

Michael Scotto of The Athletic put the photo out on his Twitter account on Tuesday:

There were reports circulating on Monday that the Sacramento Kings were preparing to make an offer to Smart, per A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston.

The report was contradicted Tuesday by Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee:

Marcus Smart fits some of the mold of Brooklyn’s current stable of combo guards (Jeremy Lin, D’Angelo Russell, Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LeVert to a degree), but he’s a far superior defender.

He’s also a far worse shooter.

In 54 games last season, Smart averaged 10.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.3 steals in 29.9 minutes per game on a horror-film-worthy slash line of .367/.301/.729.

For his career, Smart has shot just .360/.293/.756, so last season wasn’t some sort of aberration.

But Smart can defend like crazy. Last season, he posted 2.5 defensive win shares in just 54 games, nearly matching the 2.7 he logged in 79 games in 2016-17.

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His shooting, though, is still something to give one pause when talking about committing an amount of cash in the high-seven- to eight-figure range.

In last year’s playoffs, Smart averaged the same 29.9 minutes per game he did in the regular year, averaging 9.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.7 steals on a .336/.221/.735 slash line.

In his postseason career, he is a rugged .358/.312/.689 shooter.

This is the part where his supporters say, “But … upside!”

Very true — Smart is still only 24 years old and was a solid scorer in his two seasons at Oklahoma State, averaging 16.6 points per game while shooting .413/.295/.751.

Defensively, he would add a lot to the Nets backcourt. He would give them a stopper to put on an opponent’s best wing scorer — at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, he’s plenty strong enough to guard 3s, if need be — and let the offense take care of itself.

Will it happen? There are widely varying estimates on Smart’s market value. Christopher L. Gasper of the Boston Globe looked at that question on Monday.

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    • While Smart’s camp is reportedly looking for an offer in the $12 million to $15 million per season range, the Globe reported teams looking at the combo guard have been thinking more along the lines of $9 million per year, which would at least get Smart into the Nets’ budgetary neighborhood.

    With pace-and-space the NBA’s current saveur du jour (flavor of the day for those of you like me who don’t actually speak French and don’t want to go to Google Translate), having defenders who can disrupt that space and challenge on the perimeter is valuable.

    Buuuuuut …

    Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson also employs said pace-and-space philosophy and Smart is not a shooter that defenses have to respect — heck, they practically send handwritten invitations begging him to let it fly — and that has to be factored in when looking at a potential fit in Brooklyn.

    Smart is a young player with potential who is already a plus-defender. The Nets are still clearly in rebuilding mode and adding a young asset with talent plus potential is worth considering.

    Throw in the fact that Brooklyn also has developed a reputation for outstanding player development under Atkinson and maybe it’s worth taking a flyer on Smart (even though that cuts into the cap space being assembled for the summer of 2019).

    Next: Nets best 10 players from 1st NBA decade

    Marks may be saying he’s ready to roll with what he’s got, but a good GM never passes up an opportunity to make his team better if the price is right. So is Smart worth the risk? That question may be under debate among the Brooklyn brain trust right now.

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