Boston Celtics: 5 cheap replacements if Marcus Smart leaves
If Marcus Smart leaves Boston, who can the Celtics sign to fill a hole at the guard spot? Can anyone replace Smart’s defense, passing and toughness?
The Boston Celtics are surely benefitting from this dry free agency market in 2018. To say it has been unkind to Marcus Smart is an understatement, as the defensive gem has struggled to land any deal at all.
Will Smart accept his qualifying offer of $6.1 million? Perhaps. Yet, a suitor could decide to swoop in and present an offer large enough to get Smart to sign it, such as the Sacramento Kings, as NBC Sports Boston’s A. Sherrod Blakely reports.
As of right now, however, Celtics general manager Danny Ainge has seemed to play this one perfectly, as he assumed that this tough market would only help the Celtics.
What would a team be getting in Smart? The Oklahoma State product is one of the most versatile defenders in the League. He has the strength and length to guard bigger wings such as LeBron James and Paul Millsap, but the quickness to stick with point guards as well.
Take a look at his position estimates, and how they have developed over the years. This chart exemplifies how Smart can be shifted around in a lineup, both offensively and defensively.
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/9/2018.
Perhaps the most underrated part of his game is his playmaking. Smart’s vision is elite. He can run half-court sets and make the right pass, or he can find players on the move. Ask Jaylen Brown how he benefited from Smart’s vision.
Yet, Smart has his deficiencies as well. Through his first four years in the NBA, he has failed to turn his jumper into a real threat. His career average from 3 hovers just below 30 percent, with a field goal percentage almost as ugly (36 percent) His form is passable at times, but his shot selection has never caught up to his defensive prowess.
If he bolts from Beantown, the Cs will need a guard for depth. There are a mixed bag of players out there, some who are defensive-minded like Smart, and some who are more the floor-spacing type. So, who are these free agents?