For me to not be disappointed in him, I'd have to see him average close to what Tyreke Evans did as a rookie: 20.1 points, 5.8 assists, 46% shooting. That was what multiple people compared him to when he entered the league. Tyreke Evans floor with Dwayne Wade ceiling. He's been nowhere near that so far. He's been a poor man's Tony Allen.
How did anyone watch Marcus Smart play at the same school as Tony Allen, putting up nearly identical numbers, with the same body type and style and say, "He looks like a cross between Tyreke Evans and Dwayne Wade?"
If they thought he was the next tony Allen, he wouldn't have gone 6th. Julius Randle was widely believed to be a guy who, while limited defensively, could be a Zach Randolph level all star averaging 20 and 10 some day. You don't pick Tony Allen above that.
BTW, I told people last Summer that Smart vs Randle was going to continue to be an interesting debate and people acted like I was out of my mind, because Randle missed his rookie season. Throughout the season, I continued to believe Smart was above him. Randle closed the gap considerably, though. Averaged a double-double. Per-36 numbers of 14.5 points, 13.1 rebounds. Randle Vs Smart is a real thing. It's going to be really interesting to see how these two develop. Clearly Smart is on another level defensively. Randle still looks like he could be a future Zach Randolph some day. FWIW... NBA2k16 ratings recently came out and they have Randle with a higher Overall rating (77) than Smart (76), so there's that.
I don't think it is a silly debate. I believe that Smart was drafted by Boston, because Randle refused to return for another workout. Ainge was high on Randle, for good reason.
But Randle declined a final workout. Case closed.
I don't know if Smart's offense regressed, though the stat line wasn't favorable.
Certainly, he didn't make the progress with his shooting (in games) that we would have liked.
Randle suffered through Kobe's final tour. I believe that he would be demonstrating even greater value in a different system. Randle has some valuable offensive talent.
Would you trade Marcus Smart for Julius Randle- right now today?
I think the answer depends upon too many other factors. Smart, Bradley, Rozier are pieces to a plan, all expendable, but each one important. And I think that any of them are potentially part of a trade that lands us a much bigger fish than Randle.
While it isn't a Bird vs Magic debate, it is a interesting thing to watch.