If I'm going to have a PG on the team that can't shoot, it's going to be Rondo, not Smart. I admit to being biased. I'm not a big fan of Smart, and frankly, I question his intelligence. He couldn't hit anything from beyond the arc in college, but he continued to jack them up anyway. He shoots off balance and with one of the strangest releases I've seen. So Smart and the Nets 1st rounder don't come close to being enough for Cousins. Yes, I think Simmons is going to be a special player, and if you end up with him you almost have to trade Rudy. Simmons comes the closest to being Lebron like, than any other player so far. And he can play both the PF and SF positions. Hell, he can play the PG position. But your betting on his potential and trading proven all star for it. So I need a little more insurance.
First, I keep Rondo. I don't want Smart. I want the Nets 1st round pick, and another 1st round pick this year. I want a 1st round pick next year. We almost have to include Lee into the deal to make it work, and it gives us some financial freedom in the off season. The player I'd want is Bradley, but I seriously doubt the Celts would part with him. So I want Olynyk who is very skilled big man who can play both the center and PF positions. You would have two high picks in the coming draft, and if the balls bounce the right way, you end up with Simmons, and you would have a shot at players like Jakob Poelel, Kris Dunn, Jamal Murray, Henry Ellenson, Jaylen Brown, etc.
Make no mistake though, your taking a couple of steps back to change the dynamic of the team. In the long run it may be a better team overall, but maybe not. What I know is that for whatever reason, Cousins doesn't look like the same player. Don't know if it's the system, or if it has to do with injuries. Or both. I always remember a quote from Bill Walsh that he made after trading one of the Niner's best players, might have been Joe Montana. He said, "Its better to trade a player a year too early, than a year too late."