Why the Boston Celtics do it
Harrison Barnes is a much more reliable option on the offensive end than Marcus Smart, and gives the team a potential third 20-point-per-game scorer. He very well may raise the team’s ceiling in the postseason given his championship pedigree–and claim to being a starter on the only 73-win regular season team in NBA history–because of the style of play the postseason tends to be.
Barnes is a far superior isolation player than Smart, and has the size to score over most defenders. He is a legitimate third shot-creator they could rely on that Smart has not proven to be outside of a few hot 3-point shooting performances down in the Lake Buena Vista bubble and against the Brooklyn Nets this past May.
To spice things up even more, the Cs also get a top-10 draft choice. That’s two years of Barnes and another seven of a top 2021 draft prospect while dealing two 2022 free agents and a future draft pick that’s nowhere near as high as #9.
Why the Sacramento Kings do it
The Kings need to do something different. No matter how many moves they make–and you certainly cannot accuse the Sacramento front office of not trying–there hasn’t been a winning mix since the mid-2000’s.
Marcus Smart is a good backcourt compliment to De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton, and Tristan Thompson adds another big body to the mix with Richaun Holmes potentially departing in free agency.
Will this get them over the hump? No, but they need to make moves towards winning, because rebuild should never last this long.