But for NBA talent evaluators who have long seen Smart as a potential franchise-making player and a sure Top 10 pick, the incident won’t have a direct impact on Smart as a draft prospect.
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“I would not say something like that helps a player,” one general manager told Sporting News. “But I don’t think it will hurt him all that much. He has a good reputation, the guys who have coached him in his career, with Team USA, everyone. He does not have a bad rap or anything. When the time comes, he will be in one-on-one interviews with teams, he will have the chance to explain it, and I don’t think it will be a problem.”
Smart and Australian guard Dante Exum are expected to compete for status as the top point guard in the upcoming draft, and neither will fall out of the Top 10—both could be Top 5 picks depending on how the lottery shakes out.
Smart is averaging 17.5 points this year, with 5.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists. He might have gone as high as No. 1 in last year’s draft had he chose to enter, but following Oklahoma State’s upset at the hands of Oregon in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Smart decided to return to college.
If his suspension is to hurt him, it would likely be because it could cost the Cowboys a tournament bid. The team has been ravaged by injuries and lost four in a row—if Oklahoma State loses the three games Smart misses, it will have 10 losses, putting the Cowboys on tenuous ground when it comes to the tournament.
“That might be a problem,” the GM said. “There could be players who help themselves out a lot in the tournament, and if you’re not there, someone else might pass you up. But even that, I would not expect it to hurt him too much.”
