Game 5: The most “Marcus Smart” game ever

[SHAQATTACK]

Tonight was the epitome of Marcus. He shot poorly, took frustrating shots, played excellent defense, and made winning plays.  He’s one of the most unique players I’ve ever seen, and tonight summarized it in one game.

You have to resign him...no matter the cost.

Not no matter the cost. Gotta squezze him for a team friendly deal, IMO. Anything over $10 million a year is too much and even then I think that's too much. The market is bad for him right now. Can't overpay for a bench player.

I'd easily pay $15 million. Not sure I'd start there but if that's what he wants. ...

when he does Marcus plays ....not shooting ..LOL .....he sets the tone for HOW the team needs to play and rise to the occasion.   He is like the general grabbing the flag and running across the battlefield .  As a player you see him giving it all every play .....as a man , you can't sit by and watch him doing all the dirty work.   

[liam]

Smart only gets one assist for that scrum and pass to Horford but it was worth the whole game. He's the total opposite of Westbrook. Stats don't tell the whole story of a basketball game.

[SHAQATTACK]

Smart only gets one assist for that scrum and pass to Horford but it was worth the whole game. He's the total opposite of Westbrook. Stats don't tell the whole story of a basketball game.

Thank you for that . TP

[nickagneta]

Tonight was the epitome of Marcus. He shot poorly, took frustrating shots, played excellent defense, and made winning plays.  He’s one of the most unique players I’ve ever seen, and tonight summarized it in one game.

You have to resign him...no matter the cost.

Not no matter the cost. Gotta squezze him for a team friendly deal, IMO. Anything over $10 million a year is too much and even then I think that's too much. The market is bad for him right now. Can't overpay for a bench player.

Cmon Nick.

What? I love the guy's defense but this league doesn't pay big bucks for defense. They pay for offense and for two way ability even more.

If Smart was finishing his rookie contract two years ago he would have been getting Evan Turner money or better right now. But its a completely different market situation and the Marcus Smart's of the market are not still going to be getting better than Evan Turner money. Not close.

Love what he brings to the team but take Smart away and add Hayward and Kyrie and this team is still a contender. Its the right move to try to get Smart cheap. It sucks for Smart but its the right move.

[positivitize]

4 years, 12-15m a year.

He's 24 years old. Plenty of time to develop a shot.

[liam]

4 years, 12-15m a year.

He's 24 years old. Plenty of time to develop a shot.

I hope they can sign him. The money management is very tricky. If the Celtics get another top five pick that money might also effect cap money. Marcus Smart deserves to get paid....

[byennie]

I think as soon as you see Smart as a role player on a contender, he's excellent. Where you run into issues is if you cast him as a starting PG, which may have been the expectation when he was drafted.

He's a high leverage player who makes your defense better, plays hard, shows leadership/ motivates other guys, and can win you some games on the biggest stage. One thing I think is frequently underrated is his playmaking. If he can pass and be a ball-handler at the backup PG level, plus everything else he does, I think he can be pretty valuable even if his shot remains the same. That gives him 4 starter level skills: defense, passing, ball handling, leadership.

I agree with folks who want to lock him down for 4 years at a "reasonable" cost for a 6th man. Under a $100M+ salary cap, a versatile 6th man in his prime years on a contender is probably worth a 4/$50M deal IMO, and you think about moving Rozier for a (cost-controlled) draft pick or player and rolling with Irving/ Brown/ Hayward/ Tatum/ Horford (Smart) as your core.

[fairweatherfan]

Yup, that's Smart for ya. He's like the evolution of Tony Allen out there. Don't think we ever appreciated him quite as much as tonight though. A breath of fresh air.

Wonder if he lost free agent money by missing so many games or made it by coming back in such a dramatic way. Either way I hope we find a way to keep him.

[Kuberski33]

We have enough shooting firepower with Kyrie and Hayward coming back. Smart fits in like tony Allen as a defensive glue piece for a championship run

Biggest mistake Ainge made during the KG era was letting Tony Allen go.  I don't think he'll want to repeat that - but if some team comes in and overpays they could lose him.  I do think he might be willing to give the C's a slight discount given how good the team is likely to be and he obviously likes playing here.

Expect July to be stressful..lol

[keevsnick]

Tonight was the epitome of Marcus. He shot poorly, took frustrating shots, played excellent defense, and made winning plays.  He’s one of the most unique players I’ve ever seen, and tonight summarized it in one game.

You have to resign him...no matter the cost.

Not no matter the cost. Gotta squezze him for a team friendly deal, IMO. Anything over $10 million a year is too much and even then I think that's too much. The market is bad for him right now. Can't overpay for a bench player.

I'd easily pay $15 million. Not sure I'd start there but if that's what he wants. ...

Man, thats the kind of contract that gets you fired. I get it, Marcus smart is easy to like especially given what hes going through now. But anything over 10 million is too rich.

[liam]

Tonight was the epitome of Marcus. He shot poorly, took frustrating shots, played excellent defense, and made winning plays.  He’s one of the most unique players I’ve ever seen, and tonight summarized it in one game.

You have to resign him...no matter the cost.

Not no matter the cost. Gotta squezze him for a team friendly deal, IMO. Anything over $10 million a year is too much and even then I think that's too much. The market is bad for him right now. Can't overpay for a bench player.

I'd easily pay $15 million. Not sure I'd start there but if that's what he wants. ...

Man, thats the kind of contract that gets you fired. I get it, Marcus smart is easy to like especially given what hes going through now. But anything over 10 million is too rich.

I agree. You can't pay starter money to a guy who can't be a starter with the currant roster. Portland over paid serval guys and only has 3 starter level players. They got Bounced in the first round. 15 million a year better get you a starter or how are you going to pay Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum and maybe a high 1st rounder this year or next. Look at all the money the Knicks spend to miss the playoffs and look at the Heats payroll or Detroit or Charlotte or Timberwolves or Wizards or Thunder. This teams are paying contender money to not contend.

[Chief]

4 years, 12-15m a year.

He's 24 years old. Plenty of time to develop a shot.

I'd give him Andre Iguodala money. He just got 3 year $48 million as a role player. But since Smart is 24, I'd sign him as long as I could.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Tonight was the epitome of Marcus. He shot poorly, took frustrating shots, played excellent defense, and made winning plays.  He’s one of the most unique players I’ve ever seen, and tonight summarized it in one game.

You have to resign him...no matter the cost.

Not no matter the cost. Gotta squezze him for a team friendly deal, IMO. Anything over $10 million a year is too much and even then I think that's too much. The market is bad for him right now. Can't overpay for a bench player.

I'd easily pay $15 million. Not sure I'd start there but if that's what he wants. ...

Man, thats the kind of contract that gets you fired. I get it, Marcus smart is easy to like especially given what hes going through now. But anything over 10 million is too rich.

I agree. You can't pay starter money to a guy who can't be a starter with the currant roster. Portland over paid serval guys and only has 3 starter level players. They got Bounced in the first round. 15 million a year better get you a starter or how are you going to pay Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum and maybe a high 1st rounder this year or next. Look at all the money the Knicks spend to miss the playoffs and look at the Heats payroll or Detroit or Charlotte or Timberwolves or Wizards or Thunder. This teams are paying contender money to not contend.

You can if you have your cornerstones locked up already. The problem with the Heat, or Detroit, or Charlotte, or Wolves, or Wizards, or Thunder is that they paid guys before they locked in their cornerstones.

The Cs locked in Kyrie, Hayward, and Horford already. They also have Brown and Tatum on team-controlled contracts for the next 7-8 years.

When that is the case, you can sign the Smart, Rozier, etc. to Iggy money.

The truth is, if your payroll gets too bloated and you have your cornerstones, you can pretty easily trade Smart, Rozier, Morris, etc. for picks and a trade exception in an off-season.

[perks-a-beast]

Smart will get his $13 mill plus a year contract but probably not with the C's. I would think DA will prioritize signing Rozier long term instead.

Could see the Magic going aggressively after Smart since they desperately need a Someone to run the offense and provide defense in the backcourt.

[SHAQATTACK]

4 years, 12-15m a year.

He's 24 years old. Plenty of time to develop a shot.

I'd give him Andre Iguodala money. He just got 3 year $48 million as a role player. But since Smart is 24, I'd sign him as long as I could.

Right as always ..