Green will be Smart
Guard key cog to ’18 goal
It would appear from a day’s worth of calls with NBA sources that Marcus Mania is getting a bit out of hand.
Several league executives told the Herald there is presently no real smoke, let alone fire, to the Marcus Smart trade rumors in advance of tomorrow’s trade deadline. Those people indicated things could always change as teams get antsy in approach of last call, but clubs that might have inquired about Smart after reading reports found a fairly cool reception.
In fact, while no team seems all that interested in giving up a first-round draft pick for the Celtics guard as he heads toward restricted free agency this offseason, there is also the not-sosmall matter of the current season and the Bostonians’ chances to accomplish something few thought possible when Gordon Hayward went down with a fractured ankle on opening night.
From what we can gather, the Celts are indeed discomforted by the uncertainty with signing Smart beyond this season, but they see him as a key piece to this playoff run. Sources indicate Danny Ainge likely will only move Smart if he can get back someone who will help the club more in the present — or if trading Smart brings back an asset Ainge can then move for such a player.
But the Celtics aren’t just going for broke on this spring. They don’t seem willing to just give Smart up for a rental. Any replacement would have to be valuable beyond this season as well.
Besides, it’s likely that a shooter who could help will be available in the buyout market, where the Celtics would have to surrender no more than a pro-rated minimum contract and a roster spot.
So while sources confirmed again that the Celts still have interest in Memphis’ Tyreke Evans and the Clippers’ Lou Williams, both of whom are in the last year of their contracts, it’s doubtful Ainge would do anything amounting to either being the only real return in a deal for Smart. There would have to be more.
One exec from the West said the Celtics “still see (Smart) as a part of the core going forward.”
Said another, “Boston could definitely use some scoring, but the kind of things that guy does for you defensively become even more important in the playoffs. And we still don’t know if Hayward is going to be back for them this year, so that could be your scoring help right there. They keep saying he’s not coming back this year, and that’s the right way to play it. But they don’t know.
“And if you trade away a guy like Marcus now, you could spend the next few years looking for someone like him.”
Smart will turn 24 in a month, and while the Celtics certainly aren’t pleased with his decision making — punching a picture frame in anger and missing now two weeks of action and almost certainly a month of games — he’s not seen as a bad person. Team sources have said that, even though one could construct a pattern (punching a dressing room wall in Washington last year), they still believe Smart will grow and mature emotionally.
And his value still will be there at the end of the season. If the marketplace isn’t great, Smart could stay here for a deal in the $8-9 million range (sort of the Jae Crowder contract with the 2016 rise in the salary cap factored in). He also could play for the $6,053,719 qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent in 2019. The Celts could match any offer he gets from another club, or they could use him in a sign-and-trade deal.
Said one opposing coach, “I don’t know him all that well, and he seems like he’s got a pretty hot temper, but you can always find a way to deal with someone who’s that engaged and competitive every night.”
And the Celtics have to be thinking some very competitive situations lay ahead. Despite how things might go game-to-game down the stretch, they’ve proven themselves against the league’s better teams and have to believe there’s at least a legitimate shot to reach the NBA Finals. And though they clearly would be underdogs in a best-of-seven series against anyone with a good chance to represent the Western Conference, they’d be more than happy to take their shot.