"Jimmy Butler is a better basketball player than Marcus Smart." That is a true statement, today. Now change that statement slightly to "Jimmy Butler was a better basketball player at 22 than Marcus Smart is." That is where we run into a problem. This is the argument that SHOULD be making the rounds on talk radio when discussing a potential swap that includes these two names.

Regardless, this statement happens to be flat out wrong.

As a matter of fact, Marcus Smart has been better than Jimmy Butler at every stage of his career thus far and I am not sure there is a reason to believe the trend won’t continue. Here is a closer look:

High School

Coming out of high school Smart was a five-star prospect, a McDonalds All American, the #1 Shooting Guard and #10 overall player in the county. He had his choice of college programs ultimately choosing to attend Oklahoma State over UNC, Oklahoma and Texas. He chose Oklahoma State to play with his high school teammate Phil Forte, who only shared two common options.

Jimmy Butler was not heavily recruited out of high school and attended Tyler Junior College in Texas.

ADVANTAGE: SMART

College

Smart had an immediate impact the minute he put on a Cowboys uniform. As a freshman, he averaged 15.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 3.0 steals per game. He led the Big 12 in Steals, was 6th in scoring and 6th in assists. He joined Kevin Durant and Michael Beasley as the only players to win both Big 12 Freshman of the year and Big 12 Player of the year in the same season. He was a Second Team All American and USBWA National Freshman of the Year.

He decided to go back to school for his sophomore season to improve his play at point guard, a position he had only played for one season. At the time of his announcement, Chad Ford had him ranked as the #2 prospect on his board and he would've been a Top 10 pick.

His sophomore year he saw slight improvements in his numbers but overall it was a rollercoaster season where he earned a reputation for flopping and had an ugly incident with a fan. He became the first player in NCAA Tournament history to have 20+ Points, 10+ Rebounds, 5+ Assists and 5+ Steals in a game (23/13/7/6) in his final game.

After Butler’s year at Tyler junior college he was ranked as a two-star recruit and the 127th Junior College Recruit in the country. He attended Marquette University and in his first year he played 20 minutes a game and averaged 5.6 points and 3.9 rebounds. He averaged 15/6/2/1 over his Junior and Senior years, earning Big East Honorable Mention both seasons.

ADVANTAGE: SMART

NBA

Smart was selected 6th overall in the 2014 draft. Butler was drafted 30th overall in 2011. Here are their second year numbers:

Regular Season

Butler (23 years old) 26 minutes/8.6 points/4.0 rebounds/1.4 assists/1 steals

Smart (21 years old) 27.3 minutes/9.1 points/4.2 rebounds/3.0 assists/1.5 steals

Playoffs

Butler (23 years old) 40.8 minutes/13.3 points/5.2 rebounds/2.7 assists/1.3

Smart (21 years old) 32.2 minutes/12.0 points/4.5 rebounds/3.0 assists/1.7 steals

Smart's second season was slightly better across the board and he was 2 years younger doing it. He showed flashes of stardom in the playoffs including a transcendent defensive performance against the must larger (and red hot) Paul Millsap in Game 4 of the first round to will his team to a W.

ADVANTAGE: TO BE DETERMINED

Overall

When Butler was 21 years old he was not even a top 10 player in his college CONFERENCE. When Marcus Smart was 21 years old he was playing 27+ minutes for a 48-win Boston Celtics team. He was the ONLY player in his draft class to play a significant role on a playoff team in 2016. Butler broke out at 25 years old and after 3 full seasons in the NBA. I think Marcus Smart is going to break out at 22 years old and after 2 full seasons in the NBA.

Jimmy Butler is a great example of a player who worked his way to the player that he is today. By every account I have heard, Marcus Smart has a work ethic and competitiveness that is unmatched. He also has more talent than Jimmy Butler. He just hasn’t reached his potential yet and if you think he has, you are the crazy one. Everyone keeps saying that we need to add a star. I fully believe we already have one.

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