Boston Celtics: 3 reasons to bring back Marcus Smart
By Jason Timpf
2. Marcus Smart’s contract would be valuable in a future trade
As I had mentioned earlier, I believe the Celtics should overpay Smart on a shorter deal. Even if they’re forced to match a longer deal, the medium salary becomes surprisingly valuable.
The reason for this is Boston’s awkward payroll. Every deal on the books for 2019 is either above $20 million or below $7 million. With that roster, it would be difficult for the Celtics to construct a deal should a superstar — like Anthony Davis — become available in the trade market.
The problem is that even though most of Boston’s trade assets are draft picks, the salaries must match in any potential deal. As a result — as currently constituted — the Celtics would either have to include one of their own max players, or a plethora of young players to complete any deal.
It defeats the purpose of any trade if the Celtics are forced to lose a star, or to lose their entire farm system as a result.
This is where Marcus Smart’s potential contract becomes so vital. Even if the Celtics are forced to match something like a four year, $60 million deal, the $15 million in annual salary becomes the perfect filler in a trade. Now — when needing to match Anthony Davis’ $25 million salary — Boston could offer a package built around Smart, a single young player and a bunch of draft picks, thus keeping its young core and existing superstar talent intact.
And finally — in a league where we’ve seen a player like Draymond Green win three of the last four NBA championships — Marcus Smart’s infectious personality carries a certain amount of value. It will be the factor that inevitably brings out a suitor this summer, and it could be the factor that facilitates a trade next February.