An ex-NBA Defensive Player of the Year could be on the move for the second time in as many years.
Tim Bontemps of ESPN reported on Friday that Memphis Grizzlies guard Marcus Smart is a player to watch ahead of next week’s NBA trade deadline. Bontemps adds that there has been “plenty of discussion” about a potential Smart trade in recent weeks.
The 30-year-old Smart was the DPOY winner in the 2021-22 season, making him only the sixth guard in NBA history to win the award (and the first since Gary Payton in 1995-96). Smart is also a three-time career All-Defensive team selection and averages 10.6 points and 4.7 assists per game for his NBA career.
A former No. 6 overall pick out of Oklahoma State, Smart was acquired by the Grizzlies two summers ago in the three-team trade that sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Boston Celtics (Smart’s old team). This season however, Smart has appeared in just 18 games and none since December due to a finger injury. With the emergence on the wing of Grizzlies rookie Jaylen Wells, himself a very dynamic defender, Smart may now be somewhat expendable for Memphis (the No. 3 seed in the West at 32-16).
Smart is under contract for $20.2 million this season and $21.6 million next season. In recent months, he was already drawing interest from some top playoff contenders, and now it looks like Smart has a real chance to be moved before the Feb. 6 deadline.
