Assuming it's been Danny's plan all along to keep Smart over Rozier, they're both doing us huge favors right now.
Smart came into the year looking to prove he's worth ~16 million a year, and now it's looking like we can likely keep him for half that.
Rozier came into the year worth absolutely nothing and looked like one of the worst rotation players in the league. I don't think we could have given him away in a trade, and now his value is through the roof. We could see him traded for another Marcus Morris caliber of player like Bradley was.
Yeah, it is amazing the silver linings the C's are seeing this season. Hayward injury opens up the time for Tatum to shine.
Smart getting hurt at just the time when he would have been able to show the league that he was worth paying starters money (which is the only way he would get a quality offer given the cap crunch this offseason), but still might be back for the deeper playoff rounds.
Kyrie going down allowing Rozier to step in and showcase himself down the stretch in a role that is basically perfect for him, because he can play to his strengths with so few other ball handlers healthy.
Of course, I would give it all back in a second to have this team at full strength, but Danny is looking at going into the offseason in a real position of strength.
What I wonder is whether there will be enough interest in Rozier to be able to swap him for something like a late lottery pick this year. If a team bites on that (maybe the Clippers?), you can potentially save a few hundred thousand dollars on the cap next year, which will be important if they really want to stay under the tax one more year, and can then potentially replace Rozier (who would struggle to find a regular role next year if everyone is healthy) with maybe someone like Collin Sexton, who can basically extend that role as third PG an extra couple years.
Of course, that would take a leap of faith by Danny to make that deal on draftday with the hopes of signing Smart, but it is the type of deal I could see him making now, which wouldn't have been conceivable before the season, given the value of draft picks these days.
