Marcus Smart of the Boston Celtics has been linked to various trade rumors ahead of this year’s NBA trade deadline, according to multiple sources. The Los Angeles Lakers should find this to be intriguing news and could look to snag a player from their longtime rival via trade.
Not only has Smart’s name been mentioned frequently, but the Celtics may be considering trading the majority of their roster in order to retool around stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
NBA Trades: Marcus Smart is the perfect trade target for the Lakers
It would make sense if the Celtics went out and traded a handful of their existing players since, on the surface, things have clearly not gone as planned over the past season and a half.
The Celtics have hovered around .500 for the previous two seasons, which is unacceptable for a team with such a long history. And their fans certainly have let them know that.
With the Los Angeles Lakers also playing poorly this season, it’s likely that they’ll make a slew of changes in an attempt to get their season back on track and become the title contender that everyone anticipated them to be coming into the season.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, Russell Westbrook and their other guards have not performed well this season. They have had to rely on LeBron James to run the offense for many possessions each night.
The Lakers will have to make some interesting moves if they want to bring their team to where they need to be this season, and Marcus Smart may be the best choice to help the issues.
Smart is one of those players who can run an offense and also defend at a high level, which is something the Lakers will be searching for. Los Angeles has struggled to defend this season, and bringing in Marcus Smart, a player who does a lot of the dirty work, would assist them on both sides of the ball.