It was the best of times for Golden Knights fans on Friday night as they celebrated the return of a Misfit hero at T-Mobile Arena.

While it was far from the worst of times across town at Raiders headquarters, the reception from the fan base was more lukewarm for the franchise’s new quarterback.

With oh so many well-deserved apologies to Charles Dickens, it was a tale of two Smiths in the Las Vegas sports world Friday.

The receptions are understandable.

Knights fans couldn’t be happier about the team addressing a need for a veteran wing for the stretch run by reacquiring one of the most beloved players in franchise history in Reilly Smith at the trade deadline.

Meanwhile, tortured Raiders fans who had their hearts set on the unbridled potential of a top-10 pick at quarterback — and were briefly teased by the prospect of a future Hall of Famer in Matt Stafford last week — instead had to settle for the realization that their hopes for the next few years now lie in the hands of an above-average-to-middling starter in Geno Smith.

But now that the snap reactions have been processed, let’s take a deeper dive into both situations and what they mean to the city’s two most prominent sports entities.

High floor, low ceiling

Let’s start with the Raiders, whose need was far more glaring. They had to upgrade the most important position in sports, and the bottom line is they accomplished that.

Geno Smith is fine. He’s not elite, though if fans are looking for some optimism, his numbers in games played indoors have been very good the past few years.

While he has some limitations and occasionally makes some baffling mistakes, he’s a solid deep-ball passer and is far more athletic than most fans believe.

He’s the ultimate high-floor, low-ceiling player. He won’t allow the Raiders to be awful, yet he’s not likely to make them a contender. He’s not going to single-handedly transform the franchise, but he gives you a chance to be competitive.

And if you have paid attention to Pete Carroll at all since he took over as coach, that’s his favorite word.

The trade for Smith is a clear sign that Carroll was serious in his proclamation that he wants to turn things around right away. He doesn’t have the time to hope a rookie quarterback develops. He wants to be in a position to win games this season, and Carroll has done that with Smith.

Just how many games he can win will be the question. My thought has always been you’d rather be 3-14 in the NFL than 7-10 or 8-9, but there is certainly a counterargument to be made that you have to start getting some positive results to build a foundation of winning before you start challenging for conference championships and Super Bowls.

So maybe winning a few more games in 2025 could potentially be more beneficial to the franchise’s fortunes in 2026 than a high pick in next year’s draft. It’s at least a valid argument.

The concern could be with a potential extension. Smith wants and has earned a new deal, but the Raiders need to tread lightly. The trade for Smith goes from encouraging to terrifying if they overpay on an extension.

The Baker Mayfield deal, which John Spytek was a part of in Tampa, is fine. Anything north of Derek Carr’s deal in New Orleans would probably be a mistake that could justify some of the fan base’s pessimism.

Using head, not heart

As far as the Reilly Smith move, the fun way to view it is that the Tin Man finally found his heart. But that’s not really the case.

One of my consistent praises of the Knights has been the ruthless way in which they conduct business. It’s a big reason they have been so successful.

So it was a bit humorous to think the brain trust all of a sudden found a heart and decided to bring back a popular player whom fans and teammates were crushed to see traded away in the first place.

But it wasn’t about that. Smith was exactly the kind of player the Knights needed. He just happened to also come with the bonus of being a feel-good story for the fans.

So no need to worry, Kelly McCrimmon and George McPhee didn’t have a meeting with the Wizard of Oz and won’t anytime soon.

Unless he can help them get cap-compliant.

Contact Adam Hill at [email protected]. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.