Knicks Monitoring Former Wizards Guard

The New York Knicks are said to be keeping an eye on the transactional wizardry potentially coming out of Washington.

Per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post, the Knicks are "monitoring" the fate of Marcus Smart, currently stationed with the Washington Wizards. Smart is due $21.5 million on the final season of a four-year deal originally bestowed by the Boston Celtics but could get a buyout before the offseason lets out.

"Smart, 31, just like [Malcolm] Brogdon, has been in career limbo ever since he left the Celtics. He’s also been injury-prone," Bondy notes. "But at his maximized self, Smart is an elite on-ball defender who brings a toughness, chutzpah and a little bit of crazy that the Knicks were missing last season (and tried to acquire by signing P.J. Tucker)."

The Knicks have enough space on their roster to sign one more veteran player and Smart would certainly stand as one of the more ambitious options. His aggressiveness and tenacity would likely match well with that of Josh Hart as the Knicks continue to bolster their second unit after tipping off this offseason with the additions of Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele.

Smart has been invited to three All-Defensive Teams and is three years removed from Defensive Player of the Year honors. Since his nine-year tenure with the Boston Celtics ended in 2023 (traded to Memphis in a multi-pronged deal that sent former Knicks franchise face Kristaps Porzingis to Boston), injuries have eaten away as his recent seasons, as he has been limited to 54 games over the last two seasons between the Wizards and Grizzlies.

Still, adding Smart could be another step in the right direction for an improving second unit, one that could use a boost beyond the reliability of Miles McBride. Smart would form a solid triumvirate of additions next to Clarkson and Yabusele, but Bondy hints that the Knicks might have to act quickly, as he could attract "a bunch of suitors" if and when he hits the market.