Official Boston Celtics Thread

[BleacherBum2310]

I'll believe it when i see it. I think they want Smart back but they are also waiting for the market dictate his value because they don't want signing him longterm to also impact signing Tatum/Jaylen/Kyrie down the road when the cap is going to be tight for them.

[tonybologna]

Quote: Originally Posted by jeremym480

Which Boston will easily match. As long as no team goes crazy and offers $14M+ then I'm not worried about not seeing Smart in green next season... and if a team does offer him that then more power to Marcus and best of luck in all of his future endeavors.

I hope that you're right on Smart. Fran Fraschilla on ESPN during the Summer League game between the Celtics & Knicks that are on right now said after speaking with one of the Celtics management officials(not named) that Boston wouldn't go into double digit range for matching a Smart offer from another team. So it seems $8-$9 million might be the max the Celtics will go for retaining him. We will find out pretty soon though. Thanks.

[TheEndIsNear4All]

Quote: Originally Posted by tonybologna

That's really disappointing to read & hear. Smart already has a lot on him dealing with his mother's sickness but for us to not act like we're even interested in trying to bring him back makes me disgusted too at Ainge & management. Smart is & was a key player in our run in the playoffs this past season. He played with that injured thumb the entire playoffs but he still contributed & played well. No excuse for the Celtics management as this point to at least contacted him to talk about his future. I wouldn't blame him one bit now to just totally shun any qualifying offer we give him & just sign an offer sheet from another team. The question to me is are we going to even give him an offer? I mean most RFA's on teams have received an offer of some kind by now. Does Ainge & management think Smart isn't valuable enough to bring back or what? In my opinion, there are no other guards like him around that can guard/play positions 1-4. He has the strength to guard PF's but is better suited as a PG because of his lack of height. His toughness makes up for a lot of his minor weaknesses. If Smart develops a more consistent 3-pt. shot then he's looking at big money down the road from some team. That's really the only thing he doesn't do well. Send him an offer fast Ainge! It may be too late though & I don't blame Smart for being hurt about this either. Should have NEVER happened! We signed our draft pick Robert Williams & he's already screwed up twice but we haven't even considered throwing an offer to a veteran & important part of this team in Smart. Man-O-Man! This is disappointing!

I too hate the fact that Ainge has yet to resign Marcus. I love the fire he brings, and personally,I loved him since he was at Oklahoma State. Would be very upset if he ends up somewhere else.

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[stakzz00]

Quote: Originally Posted by tonybologna

Marcus Smart now has a qualifying offer of $6 million on the table from the Celtics. I DO NOT think that will cut it. I see $8+ million coming from another team for Smart pretty soon.

Smart is hard. On paper he isn't needed. Not by a long shot, but he's like Draymond.. Stats and numbers don't measure their level of impact. In game, the Celtics proved they can win without him as well as their two stars. So I don't see him coming back if he's offered 12-18 mil...

On the otherside I believe Boston has only missed one playoffs if any since their rebuild and Smart has been a part of that rebuild, with Bradley playing at near peak potential, I feel as if Ainge and Stevens believed they could get more out of a peak potential Marcus Smart than they could a peak potential Avery Bradley, because remember he played near all star level his last year in Boston.

So I feel like it's a double egged sword. Do we really need him? imo yes. Ainge isn't into building assets and letting them slip away before their potential prime would start around the ages of 24-28. I'd see Ainge matching and moving Smart before the trade deadline, but in no way would I want Smart to leave without getting a pick back. N.Y. would be a good team to trade with especially considering the Irving talks, it would give Ainge an insight on what NY could offer if they decided to do a sign and trade next summer or whatever happens on that part since there has so far been 0 effort to blend all of our players together, Kyrie is just the leader who isn't the leader considering his team is still reshaping and rebuilding due to financial constraints rather than the players tanking.. As a player it would be hard to invest in a team where the players aren't the issue but rather Front Office.. So maybe Ainge matches Smart in a bigger effort to prepare for a post Irving Boston, who knows, but it's hard to just say he won't match considering Smart replaced Bradley.

[stakzz00]

I've seen Smart make late game moves that secured a win but added no numbers to his stats. Not every team has those guys. Yes KD can shoot, but if he's not willing to dive hard for a loose ball and put his body on the line then there's something missing. Smart is like a young LeBron in the sense that you surround him with shooters so he doesn't have to shoot.. Still he puts up bad shots, but we now have the fire power that Smart can play his role and play his game, but we lack the cap space.. Maybe Brown adds 15lbs of muscle this off-season. Who knows, but it's not like Toby Allen's, Marcus Smarts and Draymond Greens grow on trees... How is OG Anunoby the next elite defender to join these three guys??? I don't see it. Hold onto smart and trade before deadline. c'mon Ainge, this ain't nuffin new.

[stakzz00]

Quote: Originally Posted by TheEndIsNear4All

I too hate the fact that Ainge has yet to resign Marcus. I love the fire he brings, and personally,I loved him since he was at Oklahoma State. Would be very upset if he ends up somewhere else. Sent from my SM-G950U using Operation Sports mobile app

Same. Somehow someway Ainge drafted all of my favorites from every draft. I make draft classes and rosters so of course I understand where we were in the draft and who would be available.. I was a big 33 Smart fan, however did not actually want him on my real life boston team.. Jaylen Brown, I felt like he was top 3 due to his athleticism, but still felt like their were better options. I didn't see him as much more than a dunker. Rozier too. Everybody liked Tatum. He wss one of the rare cases of being a number one recruit coming out of HS but falling in cbb ranks.. I wanted Fultz damnit. lol. But they all worked out. and I'm super excited about Williams. GMs will be fired in 3 years for letting lottery talent slip into the hands of Boston again even though Boston picked way out of the lottery this year.

[TheEndIsNear4All]

Quote: Originally Posted by stakzz00

Same. Somehow someway Ainge drafted all of my favorites from every draft. I make draft classes and rosters so of course I understand where we were in the draft and who would be available.. I was a big 33 Smart fan, however did not actually want him on my real life boston team.. Jaylen Brown, I felt like he was top 3 due to his athleticism, but still felt like their were better options. I didn't see him as much more than a dunker. Rozier too. Everybody liked Tatum. He wss one of the rare cases of being a number one recruit coming out of HS but falling in cbb ranks.. I wanted Fultz damnit. lol. But they all worked out. and I'm super excited about Williams. GMs will be fired in 3 years for letting lottery talent slip into the hands of Boston again even though Boston picked way out of the lottery this year.

Yeah it's really hard to truly criticize Danny, seeing as he always seems to pull something off in the long run, but man, do I love what Marcus brings to the table lol. The intangibles and mental grit he has reminds me of a combination of what Rajon and Kevin had on the floor. I love Marcus, but Danny usually has something up his sleeve and if no deal is made, I've got to feel that everything will work itself out and we'll end up with another talent worth noting. Especially since, like you stated, we have picks galore Lol.

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[jeremym480]

Quote: Originally Posted by BleacherBum2310

I'll believe it when i see it. I think they want Smart back but they are also waiting for the market dictate his value because they don't want signing him longterm to also impact signing Tatum/Jaylen/Kyrie down the road when the cap is going to be tight for them.

Same here. As much as I want him back and locked up it makes a lot of sense financially to get him back at his QO, especially since there's only one or two teams that can offer more than this offseason.

It's mostly about avoiding the luxury tax this season. If Smart comes back on his QO then I believe they'll still have room for someone like Bird without going into the luxury tax. If he gets more that $8-9 million then they'll be in the luxury tax a year earlier and Bird would have two stay on his 2-way deal.

I know Wyc has said that he would be okay with playing the tax but once you get into the repeater tax that's when things get really, really expensive. Do they really want to get that clock ticking a year early for Marcus Smart? Personally, I would because if you're a top 2-3 team in the league you can't let one of your key pieces, who is basically the backbone of your defense leave over the luxury tax.

Next season (depending on Kyrie) Boston will be in the tax anyway so might as well say screw it and all out like Golden State. Then throw Smart a bone for taking an L this season. Of course, there's a lot of teams with money next year so you stand the chance of losing him for nothing but if Bird or Wanamaker have nice years then maybe you cut your losses at that point... just not now before you see what those guys are all about at the NBA level.