Zach Kleiman Put On A Disasterclass Asset Management Clinic With Marcus Smart

Zach Kleiman Put On A Disasterclass Asset Management Clinic With Marcus Smart

I don’t know how Grizzlies fans feel about general manager Zach Kleiman but he absolutely needs to be on the hot seat after putting on a disasterclass asset management clinic. You can’t defend how the Grizzlies have handled this Marcus Smart mess and it should be viewed as fireable.

Let’s walk through this together. When the Kristaps Porzinigis trade went down, I admittedly gave the Grizzlies a B+. It was pretty clear they overpaid but Smart felt like a great fit for their team. A defensive-minded guard who could bring leadership and get the most out of the Ja Morant core by having a tough guy on the team. You can’t put a pricetag on some of the intangibles that Smart brings to a team. It’s not an accident why he won DPOY in the past.

The Smart experiment turned into a disaster. The former Oklahoma State product played in just 39 games over the past two years. He also wasn’t performing when on the court. This season, Smart is shooting just 35.8% from the floor. The shot IQ went down the toilet and his body started breaking down.

Totally understandable why the Grizzlies felt like they needed to move on. The problem every Grizzlies fan should have is what Memphis did in order to move off Smart.

They gave up two first rounders to upgrade from Tyus Jones to Marcus Smart. They then traded Smart to Memphis attaching their 2025 first rounder to get rid of him. They got two second round picks back in return.

In totality, the Grizzlies flushed three first round picks down the toilet and have nothing to show for it. How bad must things have been with Smart that you were willing to dump him for literally nothing? Better question, why would you do this trade now when you’re the two seed? Are you telling me this offer wouldn’t have been there in the offseason after a playoff run? Are you telling me there was zero chance this was going to get better? What happens when Smart rebuilds his value with Washington and they can sell him for more this time next year?

Zach Kleiman Details Grizzlies Pursuit Of Marcus Smart

Any way you slice it, Kleiman did a terrible job here. Not to mention the fact that he botched the Jake LaRavia situation where they wrongly declined his player option and then were forced to give him away for nothing.

Jaren Jackson Jr. is the only player on the Grizzlies roster that matter. Mistakes like this push a guy out of town when you can’t build a winner around him. The Smart situation is a black eye on the Kleiman resume. No question about it.

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