12:05pm: Smart and the Celtics are “going in the right direction” and “getting close” to working something out, a source tells Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link). According to Himmelsbach, there’s a hope that a deal could be in place within the next week.
11:00am: Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge and agent Happy Walters are engaged in serious talks about a new contract for restricted free agent Marcus Smart, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, the two sides are discussing a potential four-year deal in the $46-50MM range.
Smart, 24, entered free agency for the first time this summer after spending the first four seasons of his NBA career in Boston. Because he received a qualifying offer from the Celtics, Smart can’t sign outright with any other team, and has watched as most clubs with cap room around the league have used that space to sign or acquire other players.
Various reports during the last couple weeks have indicated that Smart has been frustrated with how his restricted free agency has played out. The Celtics had seemingly been reluctant to engage in direct negotiations, preferring to let the market set the price with an offer sheet. However, the veteran guard was unable to find a team willing to put a lucrative offer sheet on the table.
With Smart’s market drying up, the Celtics have apparently re-engaged with his camp on a long-term deal in the range of $12MM annually. That always seemed like about the right price for Smart, who reportedly received a four-year extension offer in the $44-48MM range from the Celtics last fall. However, the former sixth overall pick said at season’s end that he believed he was worth more than $12-14MM per year.
Smart, a career .360/.293/.756 shooter, has never been an overly productive or efficient offensive player, though he did post a career-high 4.8 APG in 2017/18. However, he’s considered one of the top perimeter defenders in the NBA and is viewed as an excellent teammate.
Smart is one of the last NBA restricted free agents still on the market. Clint Capela (Rockets), Rodney Hood (Cavaliers), Patrick McCaw (Warriors), and Montrezl Harrell (Clippers) remain unsigned too, along with a few two-way RFAs.
Yussss
Please, No. That’s way too much for him.
$12M is too much? Do you know how many hot garbage players in the NBA make more than that a year?
Agree with u ac106.smart maybe not scoring player but his defense is good.and he deserve for 12m. Im bulls fan.if celtic dont want him, i will so happy if my bulls get him. 12m for him is good. Bulls pay omar asik 11,2m and he give nothing to bulls.
Get your money Marcus! You are a winner and deserve it on this Cs team. If he went somewhere else he won’t be as successful because we have enough scoring to allow him to focus on defense and hustle plays.
Just like how Rondo had enough scoring and leadership around him that he could focus on facilitating and defense.
Cs are in the finals next year
I still feel like Phoenix should have tried to sign him, but I think he could potentially be tradable, and gives them some insurance for Kyrie/Rozier. I like Jabari Bird a lot though, and they have a really good guard/wing rotation, so I felt like they could have gone without him
I’m done with celtics if they resign him to this extension and don’t flip him
Really? If your being a fan is that fragile, then you aren’t really a fan at all.
Bingooooooo
I said the same when everyone complained about DeMarcus Cousins. If it bothers you so much, you probably dont really like basketball that much
Done for the fiscal quarter. They come back
At least they didn’t trade for that half wit kawhi
If they sign him for 4 years, I don’t know what that means for Terry beyond this season. I also have this doomsday scenario that haunts me where next summer Kyrie leaves, but takes a few days to “decide”, and Terry signs with a new team on the quick, and the C’s are left with Smart as their starting PG. I love Marcus, but he’s best suited for his current role.
Ok, I don’t get this disdain that current/former players have towards Boston. Why doesn’t anyone want to play there? All reports indicate that Kyrie will leave first chance he gets. Kawhi made it very clear that he didn’t want to go there, would not resign there.
Over the years, that’s all I hear about free agents and Boston, “no thanks”. Even KG turned down trades there multiple times before finally agreeing. WHY?!?! Especially now, Ainge has put together an exciting roster. This is a serious question, not trolling at all, can someone enlighten me?
I dont feel like those are good examples. KG didnt want to leave Minnesota regardless. Kyrie wants to be “the man,” and wont be that in Boston, and he has an affinity for the Knicks. Kawhi made no sense in Boston, and it made no sense to give up anything legit for him
Why doesn’t anyone want to play there? Two years ago they signed the #2 free agent in Al Horford and last year they signed the #1 free agent in Gordon Hayward. Seriously, I don’t know what more of an example you’d need?
There is no doomsday scenario. The Celtics have several number one picks in the 2019 draft including a likely very high Sacramento pick. At worst they start over with a top young draftee guard or they move picks for a veteran one.
To be a fan of a team you don’t have to put up with all the garbage a team does, we have the right to be angry, disagree & fallout with them, which is the right thing for fans to do, but ultimately we are suckers & go back, that is what teams capitalize on, sadly enough.
By the way with or without Smart is no way Boston gets to the finals this coming year, haven’t you heard is Philly’s year, so sorry Celtic fans, your chance was last 2 years against LBJ, now your window is gone.
True fans put up with the garbage seasons. Yes you can get angry and disagree, but true fans don’t stop following the team for multiple seasons because they’re bad or made a controversial decision.
The fans that do flake back and forth between their interest in their favorite teams are what we call bandwagon fans.
Pink Hats.
You grew up in a house with lots of lead paint amiright?
Their window is gone?? With a bunch of 20-22 year olds? With 3 more high end players around them as well? Rofl. Philly is up there near them, but to act as if Boston has no chance is a joke. They’re clearly the current favorites. Toronto just improved significantly as well, but I would still put Boston as the likeliest to get to the finals, barring health
Count the potential All Stars: Boston-Hayward, Horford, Kyrie, Tatum,Brown plus have Sacramento’s 1st pick next year, plus potentially 3 others.
Philadelphia-Embiid, Simmons (I’m not sold on him yet because of his shooting). Trashtalking again.
Philly’s the best unless they have to get past Boston– because featuring Smart, they handle Simmons. I suspect that’s why Boston is going to this effort.
No. We don’t need smart. 12mil off the bench & cant shoot is not money well spent. Smart had his chance to sign a multi year & he turned it down.
Count the potential All Stars: Boston-Hayward, Horford, Kyrie, Tatum,Brown plus have Sacramento’s 1st pick next year, plus potentially 3 others.
Philadelphia-Embiid, Simmons (I’m not sold on him yet because of his shooting). Trashtalking again.
Horford is Boston’s biggest star, sorry Hayward is never been all-nba, only once all-star & is almost 30 so he is not a star, Kyrie yes, JT will be, JB maybe or not who knows… But Embiid is already a top 10 in the league way better than any guy in Boston, & just contradicting yourself, if you read someone who actually knows about basketball, not pundits, but an ex-player that use to be known as Dr. J, probably you never heard off, he said Simmons is a generational talent, a transcendent player who will dominate & change the league, so you actually listen to all or only the ones who agree with your ridiculous narrative who no one cares about but yourself. I prefer to go with what Dr J says than you, not disrespect intended. By the way you left a lot of talent out of philly, Fultz is an unbelievable talent, the new rookie Zhaire Smith great projection too & Dario Saric is an extremely good player, for me there is no doubt they are way better than Boston, because since Larry Bird they haven’t had a player the caliber of Embiid/Simmons… if you agree great if not I don’t care, & I don’t need you to let me know by the way, though you can, but I do respect you as I do all the other posters here, so please do not disrespect me by saying I am trashtalking. IS MY OPINION. Stop harassing me. Get a life.
Horford is Boston’s biggest star, sorry Hayward is never been all-nba, only once all-star & is almost 30 so he is not a star, Kyrie yes, JT will be, JB maybe or not who knows… But Embiid is already a top 10 in the league way better than any guy in Boston, & just contradicting yourself, if you read someone who actually knows about basketball, not pundits, but an ex-player that use to be known as Dr. J, probably you never heard off, he said Simmons is a generational talent, a transcendent player who will dominate & change the league, so you actually listen to all or only the ones who agree with your ridiculous narrative who no one cares about but yourself. I prefer to go with what Dr J says than you, not disrespect intended. By the way you left a lot of talent out of philly, Fultz is an unbelievable talent, the new rookie Zhaire Smith great projection too & Dario Saric is an extremely good player, for me there is no doubt they are way better than Boston, because since Larry Bird they haven’t had a player the caliber of Embiid/Simmons… if you agree great if not I don’t care, & I don’t need you to let me know by the way, though you can, but I do respect you as I do all the other posters here, so please do not disrespect me by saying I am trashtalking. IS MY OPINION. Stop harassing me. Get a life.
I see this as a back up plan now…. Kawhi has been traded, so there goes Bostons chances of snagging him up, so lets sign Smart instead