Boston Celtics Thread

Marcus Smart is out for the regular season and hopes to come back for the playoffs. How will this effect the team's chance in PO and rest of the way?

He was averaging 30 minutes per game and that is huge shoes to fill even though the Celtics are a deep team.

Marcus Smart is out for the regular season and hopes to come back for the playoffs. How will this effect the team's chance in PO and rest of the way?

He was averaging 30 minutes per game and that is huge shoes to fill even though the Celtics are a deep team.

I think that we can manage with Rozier logging more minutes at the 2, and Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum logging more minutes as well.

Rozier has shown to be effective off the ball at the 2. He is a capable rebounder like Marcus, and a solid defender. It's the playoffs, I'm sure logging extra minutes for these ridiculously young guys will be fine.

I also like Roziers decision making a lot more, as Smart puts up a lot of questionable shots (and shoots an abysmal FG%). If the Celtics run into a situation where Semi Ojeleye or Adel Nader need to log a decent amount of minutes, we could be in trouble. Semi while solid on defense, doesn't give us anything on the other end. And Abdel just isn't confident, he reminds me of James Young in that regard from last year. I think Brad will keep his rotations short and play those guys as little as possible.

I've never been a Smart fan, so obviously I think we can fair well without him. If he comes back for the Playoffs, I don't think he will come back and different from before. In fact, maybe it will discourage him from shooting so much and actually focus on what hes good at (On ball defense, hustle, rebounding, and sometimes distributing).

If Celtics decide to trade Rozier this off-season, what teams do you think would be interested and what would you consider fair market value?

After the way he's performed in the postseason, I expect quite a few teams would be interested in his services. By the same token, I'm not sure that the Celtics would be in a rush to trade him.

The same could be said about Thomas and Bradley last off-season though.

Main thing is that next year will be his last of his rookie contract and I am not sure if Celtics are willing to go all in for him in the same off-season they got to re-sign Irving.

Honestly, I would be surprised if Danny doesn't try to move him now that his value is as high as it can get.

If Kyrie Irving hadn't become available, I'm not sure they necessarily would've traded Thomas. Those were rather noteworthy circumstances.

Depends on how badly Ainge can rip off the other party in a potential deal Dude's won every trade by a landslide recently.

Ainge also tried to move Thomas the off-season before for a top draft pick I think. No one is untouchable when it comes to Danny.

So, you got Thomas, Bradley and Smart all becoming free-agents this off-season. What sort of salary do you expect them to get?

With the contracts we're seeing these days, at least one of them is probably going to get overpaid. I think Thomas' struggles this season has hurt his chances of a big payday, but you never know. He remain the most accomplished of the three.

I'm guessing the Celtics will be looking to retain Smart, but I'd be wary of overpaying for him. While he makes some great plays, his shot selection is still very suspect at times, and he's definitely not an All-Star calibre player.

Avery Bradley has also underperformed this season. Really curious to see what happens with those 3 and wonder if Bradley could be a realistic MLE option for the Celtics.

I also imagine the Evan Turner precedent might decrease their chances of getting paid. I mean, "don't trust stats coming from players coached by Stevens" might be a thing.

20 mill a year for each, Smart probably won't be on the Celtics though

I am the only one who would like to see what Brad could do with Zach Collins? Also, wonder what Blazers would ask in return for him. Zach needs to get out of Portland I think or else he could be the next Meyers Leonard who was picked almost at the same position as him (10th, 11th).

No, enough with the project players.
I want to see Stevens have players that would contribute immediately to the cause of ending the GSW dominance, he deserves to be given better players in speeding up that cause for what he’s shown already with his coaching.

Yes. Very correct like one hundie and twenty percent correct. Brad deserves to be coaching a better team than Dirtics.

I actually want to see him as a GM. Is he shrewd enough to get the job done? Will his analytic moneyball attitude help him?

Collins could actually be a solid contributor with Stevens right from the beginning I believe.

If you love Marcus Smart, you will hate this quote. If you wouldn't mind seeing him off the team, you may love it.

AND FINALLY… MARCUS SMART WANTS HIS $$

“To be honest, I’m worth more than $12-14 million,” Smart told Jackie MacMullan of ESPN. “Just for the things I do on the court that don’t show up on the stat sheet. You don’t find guys like that. I always leave everything on the court, every game. Tell me how many other players can say that.”

Personally, I love his hustle. But I've never been able to get past his shot selection and erratic play. I'm good if Boston moves him.

Good, more money available to keep Tatum and Brown if the Celtics do let go of Smart.
Predicting it this early, he’s going to suck outside of Stevens’ system like Turner and Crowder.

Good, more money available to keep Tatum and Brown if the Celtics do let go of Smart.
Predicting it this early, he’s going to suck outside of Stevens’ system like Turner and Crowder.

Totally.

I think this is the best Marcus Smart will ever be, which isnt the greatest as it is. I don't think he will have the same freedom (like Turner) on another team. His career will go downhill.

While Smart brings great defense to the table, his shot selection and questionable offensive abilities make him a liability. He's just as likely to follow up a great defensive play with two or three horrible decisions on offense. He's expendable. Rozier too, arguably.

I love Smart's defense, and I think at offense, as much as he is criticized, he is a really good playmaker. But he thinks he shoots way better than he actually does, and for every great defensive play, he gives up 2 posessions on open or forced looks.

Right now, I am not resigning him for more than 6-7 M a year, and I doubt that any serious team offers more than that. He can take the QO and be an unrestricted free agent next season, but I wouldn't bet on myself if I was him.

I am not high on Rozier either, I just get a very strange Reggie Jackson feel from him. But he was asked to do way more than he should be doing, and I am content with keeping him next season off the bench. I am only trading him if Wendell Carter or Mo Bamba become avaiable.

We need to keep at least one of the two, or find a replacement. For Smart I think drafting Troy Brown Jr out of Oregon could work, but then you should re-sign Larkin as there's no way I want Rozier leading the play-calling in bench with Morris and Ojeleye in it.

The main focus is to get Irving, Hayward and Theis back healthy. And re-sign Baynes and Larkin, 5M for Baynes, min. for Larkin. If you can package Morris for a better bench scorer a la Belinelly then do it.


PD: Burno Fernando out of Maryland really caught my eye as a long-term Horford replacement, but I think we could get him with a 2nd round pick, so I would not use our #27 (I think we're picking there).

Not sure if there's a team that will pay Smart's asking price. He shot 36% field goal in 4 seasons, which is a number that makes Carter-Williams look like a great efficient shooter.

I find current version of Lance Stephenson and Smart similar. But perhaps there's a team willing to take chances on his youthfulness.

Sounds like he will end up taking the QO.

Smart overrates himself badly. Defense alone doesn't get you massive money unless you are an established defender with multiple awards on your back like Big Ben when he signed with Bulls. Smart can't even get into the all-defensive 2nd team.

Plus, after Josh Smith fiasco teams would think twice before paying big money to a player that does whatever he wants with the ball in his hands.

Sounds like he will end up taking the QO.

Smart overrates himself badly. Defense alone doesn't get you massive money unless you are an established defender with multiple awards on your back like Big Ben when he signed with Bulls. Smart can't even get into the all-defensive 2nd team.

Plus, after Josh Smith fiasco teams would think twice before paying big money to a player that does whatever he wants with the ball in his hands.

Difference between someone who is great at defense, and knows his role (Bruce Bowen, Shane Battier), and Marcus Smart. Defense can be 90% of what a player does well, as long as they play a positive role on offense. Bowen knew that he was only out there on offense to space the floor and hit open shots, same with Battier. Tony Allen is another good example, he would slash to the hoop every now and than given the opportunity, but he knew not to force the issue. He knew that his role was to play great D, and not get in the way offensively.

Marcus Smart thinks he should be the primary ball handler on the floor at times, and shoots shots at the rate of an all star caliber offensive player when given the chance. His percentages show how poor of a decision that is, but he insists on continuing to fire.

The problem with Smart isn't that he is a horrible offensive player, it's where he picks his spots to shoot, how many contested shots he shoots, and where he shoots from. The other problem is, he doesn't really have the same length/size as a Battier or Bowen, so he can't guard positions 1 through 4 even in the modern day NBA.

Smart is not even a 3 d player. Bowen and Battier were far superior players and never them got paid massive money during their entire careers.

Bowen:

Season Team Lg Salary
1997-98 Boston Celtics NBA $422,500
1998-99 Boston Celtics NBA $507,000
1999-00 Chicago Bulls NBA $510,000
2000-01 Miami Heat NBA $733,000
2001-02 San Antonio Spurs NBA $715,850
2002-03 San Antonio Spurs NBA $3,550,000
2003-04 San Antonio Spurs NBA $3,650,000
2004-05 San Antonio Spurs NBA $3,000,000
2005-06 San Antonio Spurs NBA $3,375,000
2006-07 San Antonio Spurs NBA $3,750,000
2007-08 San Antonio Spurs NBA $4,125,000
2008-09 San Antonio Spurs NBA $4,000,000
2009-10 Milwaukee Bucks NBA $2,000,000

Battier:

Season Team Lg Salary
2001-02 Memphis Grizzlies NBA $2,203,080
2002-03 Memphis Grizzlies NBA $2,368,200
2003-04 Memphis Grizzlies NBA $2,533,440
2004-05 Memphis Grizzlies NBA $3,212,402
2005-06 Memphis Grizzlies NBA $4,903,000
2006-07 Houston Rockets NBA $5,393,300
2007-08 Houston Rockets NBA $5,883,600
2008-09 Houston Rockets NBA $6,448,900
2009-10 Houston Rockets NBA $6,864,200
2010-11 Memphis Grizzlies NBA $7,354,500
2011-12 Miami Heat NBA $3,000,000
2012-13 Miami Heat NBA $3,135,000
2013-14 Miami Heat NBA $3,270,000

Last edited by Jackie Kong on Tue May 29, 2018 2:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.