Boston Celtics: 3 reasons Marcus Smart’s contract makes sense

3. This is the going rate for defensive stoppers

Some fans may point to the last couple years of this deal and claim it will be an overpay for Marcus Smart. There will be more on this thought later, but it is apparent that the Boston Celtics were either comfortable with a slight overpay, or decided it was fair value for their longest-tenured player.

Regardless, Smart’s new contract seems to be on par with players around the league who provide similar services. The contracts of other defensive-minded players were evaluated in order to determine the value of Smart’s new contract.

Specifically, I looked at players such as Andre Roberson, Avery Bradley, Robert Covington, Danny Green, Kyle Anderson, and Andre Iguodala. While some of these players produce better shooting percentages than Smart, all of them have a common denominator of being a defensive menace.

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A quick reminder – Marcus Smart will be making $13 million annually and $11.7 million next year.

Roberson, of the Oklahoma City Thunder, earns $10 million annually and will do so for the remainder of his contract. The Los Angeles Clippers convinced Bradley to agree to a contract which will pay him an average of $12.5 million over the next two seasons. The Sixers, a Boston Celtics rival, will pay their All-Defensive wing Robert Covington an average of $11.7 million over the next four years. Another division foe, the Toronto Raptors, will pay Danny Green $10 million this year.

Golden State Warriors star Andre Iguodala is the outlier in this group. The former Finals MVP earns an average of $16 million per season. A new member of the Memphis Grizzlies, Kyle Anderson will receive an average of $9.3 million for the next four years. After reviewing these salary figures, Marcus Smart’s new deal may be of fair value.

The label of “fair” for Smart’s deal may actually be synonymous with “good,” especially when considering the large number of cap-crippling contracts handed out to overpaid players. In fact, when the upcoming salary spike is considered, Smart’s deal may look like incredibly worthwhile for the Boston Celtics.