Marcus Smart RFA [Merged - finalizing 4 year deal]

[celts55]

Is anyone willing to believe that Marcus still has room to develop a better three point shot? Or is it time to give up on that dream?

at this point, I think his shooting is what it is. He really hasnt improved in that aspect at all in his years in the NBA.

I'm not so sure. He appeared to be shooting the ball better earlier in the year. Than he punched a mirror, and injured this thumb diving for a ball after that. I have to think these hand injuries didn't help his shot.
I'm certainly not saying he will improve, but I believe it's possible.
On the bright side, he can't get any worse.

[Monkhouse]

“I think that everybody is replaceable,” Ainge said Thursday. “If there was ever a situation with a team where guys would know that, it would be this team that just went through what we went through this year. We’re all replaceable, and we’ll be able to move on and move forward without any players. Nobody is irreplaceable, but Marcus certainly is a player that has been big for us over the last few years.”

 The Celtics can make a qualifying offer worth about $6.1 million to Smart. They also can match any free agent offer that is made by another team. It’ll be interesting to see how the market shakes out for his services, seeing as much of his impact is difficult to quantify. But Ainge had no problem with Smart pumping up his own value immediately after Boston was eliminated from the NBA playoffs. “I wouldn’t, but a lot of players do, so it’s his prerogative,” Ainge said. “Just simply he’s got a million cameras in front of him, a bunch of mics. It’s not like he’s coming out and saying, ‘Hey, I need this.’ Someone was asking that question and was persisting on like, ‘Well, what do you think you’re worth?’ And he just answered it in his honest opinion.”

“We need Marcus. Marcus is a good player,” Ainge said Thursday on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher and Rich.” “He provides a lot of energy for our team and I hope that we can work something out going forward.” Ainge also is realistic, though. And while he’ll be the first to acknowledge Smart’s importance to the Celtics over the last four seasons, he understands the NBA landscape and what it takes to build a contender while managing payroll.

Read more at: https://nesn.com/2018/05/danny-ainge-hopeful-realistic-about-marcus-smarts-future-with-celtics/

Danny Ainge seemed very honest in his interview. I think we all know what he's saying. We lose our defensive identity without Smart. We need Smart and Horford. They are the soul, and Horford is the heart/engine that keeps us moving to contest and make the right plays.

Is anyone willing to believe that Marcus still has room to develop a better three point shot? Or is it time to give up on that dream?

at this point, I think his shooting is what it is. He really hasnt improved in that aspect at all in his years in the NBA.

I'm not so sure. He appeared to be shooting the ball better earlier in the year. Than he punched a mirror, and injured this thumb diving for a ball after that. I have to think these hand injuries didn't help his shot.
I'm certainly not saying he will improve, but I believe it's possible.
On the bright side, he can't get any worse.

I agree, I don't think he's ever going to be a great shooter. His form and motion looks way better, and there isn't that weird hitch. I think he'll have those 30-35% up and down seasons where he'll shoot great, and sometimes he'll shoot terrible.

[Bobshot]

Considering ESPN never waxes positive about any Boston team, I'll take these "quotes" with a grain or two of salt. Is Jackie still pushing Potopenko?

[SparzWizard]

Is anyone willing to believe that Marcus still has room to develop a better three point shot? Or is it time to give up on that dream?

Lol

He is done developing

Yup he's been here since 2014. He's only good for his defensive intensity. Forget about his 3-point shot. He better start driving into the hoop more while getting hit or hammered.

[CelticsElite]

Has there ever been a player this bad at offense but his defense and toughness is so good he can pass as a good bench player ?

[liam]

Has there ever been a player this bad at offense but his defense and toughness is so good he can pass as a good bench player ?

Could Rodman shoot at all?

[Beat LA]

“I think that everybody is replaceable,” Ainge said Thursday.

We know .

[SparzWizard]

“I think that everybody is replaceable,” Ainge said Thursday.

We know .

Get ready for your hearts when he ships Tatum out for Kawhi Leonard!

[Beat LA]

“I think that everybody is replaceable,” Ainge said Thursday.

We know .

Get ready for your hearts when he ships Tatum out for Kawhi Leonard!

I don't feel anything, anymore, lol .

[gouki88]

“I think that everybody is replaceable,” Ainge said Thursday.

We know .

Get ready for your hearts when he ships Tatum out for Kawhi Leonard!

Don't you joke about this you monster

Brown for Leonard I could at least fathom. But not Tatum... never Tatum

[Androslav]

Has there ever been a player this bad at offense but his defense and toughness is so good he can pass as a good bench player ?

Our old friend Tony Allen.
Wings that defend like hell, both were drafted and played like true Celtics, none can shoot, similar lenght measurements.
Smart can dribble and pass, while Tony was much more explosive. Still, they have a lot of similarities.
Hopefully we can sign and trade Marcus for that Memphis pick. That would add another similarity and that's where I stand now regarding Marcus.

My take is that unless you resign Marcus at a market favourable contract, you find a way to S&T him, if not then Q. offer.
The logic behind is that Marcus started just 4 games this playoffs, making him a 6th man on an ECF team that lacks GH and Kyrie. In my book that makes him 8th best player on this team and IMO, the 8th best player is worth at max a non taxpayers MLE, around 8 mil $.

One other thing, CBS makes all his players better so we might see even a worse Marcus Smart offensively on some other team. Similarly, I am sure that Brad could use the surplus of the newly found offense enough to cover for Smarts plus defense.

I love Smart, but we have bigger fish to fry.

[gouki88]

Has there ever been a player this bad at offense but his defense and toughness is so good he can pass as a good bench player ?

Our old friend Tony Allen.

My main problem with this is that TA was really good at picking his spots with us. Around 48% from the field with very little 3’s attempted.

Marcus on the other hand has never averaged less than 4 3PA’s a game, while amazingly never shooting as well as he did in his rookie year (nailing a gruesome .301% this year).
If Marcus was efficient and knew his spots like TA I’d like him so much more

[SHAQATTACK]

Ill say DA might go,10 , and he ll hit the road other wise

[trickybilly]

Has there ever been a player this bad at offense but his defense and toughness is so good he can pass as a good bench player ?

Our old friend Tony Allen.

My main problem with this is that TA was really good at picking his spots with us. Around 48% from the field with very little 3’s attempted.

Marcus on the other hand has never averaged less than 4 3PA’s a game, while amazingly never shooting as well as he did in his rookie year (nailing a gruesome .301% this year).
If Marcus was efficient and knew his spots like TA I’d like him so much more

This is the point. Nowadays wings/ball handlers HAVE to be at least respectable from outside. TA would really struggle if his career was starting in 2018... he would be lucky to get a contract frankly (much as I love TA, and he will remain a C's legend)

This is also why the "Does Tom Brady do X" argument seems spurious. There have been no HUGE developments in the role of a quarterback for 20 years, and there are still many non-running guys running around. The spike in threes in the NBA is nothing short of new-era..

[saltlover]

This may have been answered already here but I am curious about the tax issues.  Assuming the entire team came back, what is the number (in terms of dollars) that we can also have Smart on the team and avoid whatever tax situation we would prefer to avoid this year?  And is the number is not exact, what is the ballpark number?

Thanks.

There’s no exact number yet, because the tax line is not official.  The estimate going around is $123 million, but it could easily deviate +/- $1 million from that, which would obviously have an impact.  Another factor to consider is whether or not the Celtics would be willing to leave an open roster spot to avoid the tax.  They probably would, but given all the injuries they had last year, they might be a bit leery of that idea.

But let’s assume the following:

1) No trades are made
2) The luxury tax is $123 million on the nose
3) The salary cap is $101 million on the nose (this helps calculate the salary of our draft pick, because the slot value now increases proportionally with the cap)
4) We go with a 14-man roster
5) We sign Jabari Bird to an NBA deal at the rookie minimum in year 1
6) We let all free agents walk, and keep all the non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed guys (Theis, Nader, Ojeleye).

This would leave the Celtics with $12,928,129 of space before they hit the luxury tax.  With that, they could sign him to a 4-year deal that pays up to $57,918,286, or a 5-year deal that pays up to $74,983,495 and stay under the tax this season.

People can adjust the number accordingly as they see fit based on the above assumptions.  I think it will be a little lower, myself, as I think the luxury tax comes in closer to $122 million than $123 million.  But I think the above is a perfectly reasonable starting point for a maximum amount they could offer Smart while avoiding the tax.
 
I know you wanted to assume the entire team came back, but I really think we need to assume Baynes is gone.  I don’t see the Celtics wanting to go more than a season with him, and going one season means he can veto any mid-season trade, which is a situation the Ainge likes to avoid when possible.  If Smart’s situation gets resolved quickly, it’s possible they could bring Baynes back, but Marcus I’m sure is the top free agent priority, and as a restricted free agent, his situation could take a month or more to resolve, by which time Baynes will have been off the market for some time.