great news indeed but I'm kinda worried about Smart...I'm one of the "cannot trade Smart" train, but if this is true, I think in a Paul George deal, he would be moved...
In my opinion, I would be moving Bradley/Crowder first
I would say Bradley, Crowder, and even Rozier would be moved first.
Ainge and Stevens seem to love Smart's versatility.
yea, not a knock on Bradley, i love the dude but he's due for a big payday soon while Smart can still be retained for cheaper, and I love how Smart competes night in and night out...his offensive may be bad but I love his defense, his defense doesn't show up in the stat sheet and makes game winning plays constantly...I LOVE this dude!
I love Smart too, but I'm not completely convinced he can be retained for cheaper. Unlike Olynyk last summer, I do think that they'll try to extend him. If they can't reach an agreement, he might become tradeable rather quickly.
You think so?
Smart is restricted and an awful shooter while AB can hit 3s, is unrestricted and in his prime.
I bet Bradley's contract approaches 26-27 mil a year. I don't see Smarts pushing past 16 or 17 mil
I think being restricted will actually work to Smart's advantage in this case. I think he's the type of player team's overpay to keep the Celtics from matching. I'd explicitly watch out for the Mavericks.
When Smart is playing his best, he can be the best player for either team, as we saw in Game 3 vs. Cleveland. Not every player has that ability, to win a game in the latter rounds of the playoffs. As a 24 year-old, there will be a team that thinks he can be a star player for his second contract.
If the free agent market seems tight this summer, Ainge needs to take advantage of that and get Smart on a discount.