NBA Draft 2014 Pick 6: Marcus Smart, Boston Celtics

Marcus Smart was the 6th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft coming out of Oklahoma State after an excellent sophomore year. Smart was an interesting pick by the Boston Celtics because Rajon Rondo is in the final year of his contract. Does this mean the Celtics may be looking for a trade to get Rondo's contract out of Boston and pick up some young talent to play alongside Marcus Smart and the other young talent on this Celtic's roster? If that's their plan Marcus Smart is the perfect player to build a franchise around.

Smart is a gifted player that understands how to use his speed, quickness, and superior instincts to get him to the rim. With his big body he is almost unstoppable when he gets inside the paint. I really love his passing ability once he gets into the paint. He does not mind passing to his teammates and using his talents and skills to create shots for his teammates. Smart averaged 5 assists last year at Oklahoma State with a team that struggled to keep their best players on the court due to injury and suspension.

Another area where Smart excels is his defensive ability. He is an excellent one-on-one defender and can shut down an opposing player. Smart had a defensive rating of 92.3 last season with Oklahoma State as compared to Rajon Rondo who has always been an average defender. I believe Smart will be an upgrade at least defensively for the Celtics this year. He does a great job of keeping a body in front of his man and he is also great on closing out on defenders. Smart has an excellent motor on defense and never gives up. Here's a video of him defending Andrew Wiggins last year.

Smart has a lot to improve on with his game. A lot of people say Smart needs to work on his shot, I believe he has a great shot but his shot selection at Oklahoma State was pretty horrendous. He needed to carry that Cowboy team which caused him to force many of his shots. With more teammates that can score on this Celtic roster, Smart should be able to shot at a higher percentage. Another area of his game he needs to improve is his ball handling ability. At the moment he is just an undersized two guard but if he just improved his ball handling then he would be an excellent one guard.

Marcus Smart is an excellent pick by the Celtics, and this is definitely a move towards the future. The Celtics are in a rebuilding phase and this pick just indicates in which direction the Celtics intend to go. Rajon Rando's days are numbered in Boston, they have this excellent player and all they need is some more young talent around him. I'm excited to see Marcus Smart play and I wouldn't be surprised if he is one of the best players from this year's draft.