Marcus Smart RFA [Merged - finalizing 4 year deal]

[liam]

If The Celtics win a championship Smart is going to get a whopping big pay day at the end of next season so maybe he should just sign the QO...

[vjcsmoke]

I'm thinking 3/33m makes sense.  You could do it as 2+1.  Marcus could opt out after 2 years and chase bigger money.  He would be able to hit free agency at a still very young age 26.  Gives the team slightly longer control and Marcus gets the security he can stay 3 years if he wants or bet on himself in free agency relatively soon.

The Celtics are silent because they are waiting for RFA offers and they can match if they need to.  When free agency is over I guess they make the multi-year offer and if I were Smart's agent I'd either advise him to choose to play on the QO or just get a big raise now, and a couple years later go for it at age 26 in free agency. 

But playing on the QO sacrifices an immediate pay bump and there's no guarantee Smart would get a hugely better offer next year.  Especially if his shooting ability stays the same.

[rondofan1255]

“While no deal is imminent, two #NBA officials whose teams have had some level of interest in Marcus Smart are getting a strong sense he will sign the $6.1M qualifying offer made by the #Celtics and become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019.”

https://twitter.com/AdamMKaufman/status/1015688018542383104

[Beat LA]

I hope they can keep him at 3/33M, or 4/42M. I feel Ainge has offered that (despite reports), BUT Smart rejected initially and wanted to test the market. With cap space drying up though, maybe Smart accepts soon OR Ainge comes back with another offer (but slightly lower)

Otherwise, I'd honestly be real shocked if Ainge truly hasn't offered Smart a multi-year deal at all to this point (at less than 12M/Year).

Gotta ask. What incentive does Ainge have to want to sign Smart to an 8 figure per year contract when no other team has come close to making him an offer this off season? The market is showing that Smart just does not have a demand for his services at $10 million a year or more. No sense for Ainge to bid against himself. Just wait for other teams to make an offer and either match it and keep him or decide to move on because its at a price thats too high for the Cs. It sucks for Smart but ultimately I think both Smart and the Celtics will be better off if Smart signs the QO or and one and one player option at about $8 million per.

The incentive Ainge has is if he thinks that teams are not offering Smart such a contract because Smart was a restricted free agent this year and all the cap room was gone by the time the moratorium was over.  If he thinks Smart will get offers in the $14-16 million range next summer, getting him for $11 million average over multiple years could turn into a long-term bargain.  If Ainge thinks that next year Smart will see the same market as he is now, despite available cap space and unrestricted free agency, then yeah, he has no incentive.

Who would ever give Smart that kind of money? That's just insane, imo, lol .

[liam]

I hope they can keep him at 3/33M, or 4/42M. I feel Ainge has offered that (despite reports), BUT Smart rejected initially and wanted to test the market. With cap space drying up though, maybe Smart accepts soon OR Ainge comes back with another offer (but slightly lower)

Otherwise, I'd honestly be real shocked if Ainge truly hasn't offered Smart a multi-year deal at all to this point (at less than 12M/Year).

Gotta ask. What incentive does Ainge have to want to sign Smart to an 8 figure per year contract when no other team has come close to making him an offer this off season? The market is showing that Smart just does not have a demand for his services at $10 million a year or more. No sense for Ainge to bid against himself. Just wait for other teams to make an offer and either match it and keep him or decide to move on because its at a price thats too high for the Cs. It sucks for Smart but ultimately I think both Smart and the Celtics will be better off if Smart signs the QO or and one and one player option at about $8 million per.

The incentive Ainge has is if he thinks that teams are not offering Smart such a contract because Smart was a restricted free agent this year and all the cap room was gone by the time the moratorium was over.  If he thinks Smart will get offers in the $14-16 million range next summer, getting him for $11 million average over multiple years could turn into a long-term bargain.  If Ainge thinks that next year Smart will see the same market as he is now, despite available cap space and unrestricted free agency, then yeah, he has no incentive.

Who would ever give Smart that kind of money? That's just insane, imo, lol .

The Kings?

[Dino Pitino]

“While no deal is imminent, two #NBA officials whose teams have had some level of interest in Marcus Smart are getting a strong sense he will sign the $6.1M qualifying offer made by the #Celtics and become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019.”

https://twitter.com/AdamMKaufman/status/1015688018542383104

I'm glad he'll be back for a year. I wonder how much he'll get next summer after a season of coming off the bench for, what, 20-25 minutes a game?

[aefgogreen]

Ainge never pays more than he has to.  And if a mistake has to be made, he'd rather pass on someone he should have kept than.signed someone he should have let go.  If Smart doesn't get a better offer, Ainge will punt on making a decision this year and let Smart take the QO.  I doubt there is going to be enough money on the table next year for teams to make a significantly higher offer.

[Beat LA]

I hope they can keep him at 3/33M, or 4/42M. I feel Ainge has offered that (despite reports), BUT Smart rejected initially and wanted to test the market. With cap space drying up though, maybe Smart accepts soon OR Ainge comes back with another offer (but slightly lower)

Otherwise, I'd honestly be real shocked if Ainge truly hasn't offered Smart a multi-year deal at all to this point (at less than 12M/Year).

Gotta ask. What incentive does Ainge have to want to sign Smart to an 8 figure per year contract when no other team has come close to making him an offer this off season? The market is showing that Smart just does not have a demand for his services at $10 million a year or more. No sense for Ainge to bid against himself. Just wait for other teams to make an offer and either match it and keep him or decide to move on because its at a price thats too high for the Cs. It sucks for Smart but ultimately I think both Smart and the Celtics will be better off if Smart signs the QO or and one and one player option at about $8 million per.

The incentive Ainge has is if he thinks that teams are not offering Smart such a contract because Smart was a restricted free agent this year and all the cap room was gone by the time the moratorium was over.  If he thinks Smart will get offers in the $14-16 million range next summer, getting him for $11 million average over multiple years could turn into a long-term bargain.  If Ainge thinks that next year Smart will see the same market as he is now, despite available cap space and unrestricted free agency, then yeah, he has no incentive.

Who would ever give Smart that kind of money? That's just insane, imo, lol .

The Kings?

I was honestly going to say that but elected not to do so, lol , so TP.

[Snakehead]

From my read on it Ainge is just letting the business run its course.  I think he legitimately likes Smart enough to pay him the money but with the way the team is set up it can't happen at that price.  And the market has been perfectly down for him unfortunately.

I'm sympathetic because the guy plays so hard and deserves to be payed.  I really do think if he ends up making like 9 or 10 million he is a lot better than guys making that much money. 

I just need this guy to be on the team.  I'm a big fan if people can't tell but I would be bummed about, especially because of his fit on a team that is going to have plenty of scoring anyways.  I hope it can happen for years but how it's going I am expecting a 1 or 2 year deal.  Hope to be wrong and he can be on for years to come.  He is truly one of my favorite players of all time from watching him over his time here and I think there's a lot more great play to come from him.

[tenn_smoothie]

Marcus Smart rumors ?

Yeah - Danny has not seen fit to at least stay in contact with Marcus and has now angered a guy who gives everything he has to the team and has clearly stated how much he wants to stay a Celtic - unlike someone else I could mention. It means something to him to put that jersey on.

Why does Danny do stuff like this and alienate players from the organization ? I am not asking that he offer the guy $12M per and hold a parade, but at the very least, stay in contact and make sure Marcus knows that you want him in Boston. Would that be so hard to do?

Danny publicly shops these guys and treats them like chess pieces. The Celts are getting the reputation of being a heartless organization that is only about business. Danny could take a lesson from Red. It's not that hard to make players feel appreciated, even while you are careful about the bottom line.  He is going to ruin all the hard work that has gone into this team.

[makaveli]

Marcus Smart rumors ?

Yeah - Danny has not seen fit to at least stay in contact with Marcus and has now angered a guy who gives everything he has to the team and has clearly stated how much he wants to stay a Celtic - unlike someone else I could mention. It means something to him to put that jersey on.

Why does Danny do stuff like this and alienate players from the organization ? I am not asking that he offer the guy $12M per and hold a parade, but at the very least, stay in contact and make sure Marcus knows that you want him in Boston. Would that be so hard to do?

Danny publicly shops these guys and treats them like chess pieces. The Celts are getting the reputation of being a heartless organization that is only about business. Danny could take a lesson from Red. It's not that hard to make players feel appreciated, even while you are careful about the bottom line.  He is going to ruin all the hard work that has gone into this team.

Marcus was offered a contract extension, he declined, betted on himself. I do not believe that hr was not contacted or whatever, danny values marcus, or he would have been gone via trade long ago. It is just a matter of patience.
If i was marcus i would tske a 4 year contraxt ASAP, because he will have a tough time finding minutes at the end of the game with all of our guys healthy, and that is where he earned his value.

[RJ87]

Marcus Smart rumors ?

Yeah - Danny has not seen fit to at least stay in contact with Marcus and has now angered a guy who gives everything he has to the team and has clearly stated how much he wants to stay a Celtic - unlike someone else I could mention. It means something to him to put that jersey on.

Why does Danny do stuff like this and alienate players from the organization ? I am not asking that he offer the guy $12M per and hold a parade, but at the very least, stay in contact and make sure Marcus knows that you want him in Boston. Would that be so hard to do?

Danny publicly shops these guys and treats them like chess pieces. The Celts are getting the reputation of being a heartless organization that is only about business. Danny could take a lesson from Red. It's not that hard to make players feel appreciated, even while you are careful about the bottom line.  He is going to ruin all the hard work that has gone into this team.

In all fairness, it doesn't take a whole to anger Marcus now, does it? He's emotional, I have a feeling that plays as much of a part in the lack interest from other teams as much as his historically bad offense.

The Celtics made an offer believed to be in the range of $11m-$12m earlier this year, but Marcus thinks he's worth more. That's fine. Its the offseason now, Celtics extend the qualifying offer and basically say "you think you're worth more than what we offered? Go get that offer sheet." I don't see the problem there. Maybe he should direct his anger at his agent for not properly evaluating the market for him.

[gouki88]

Marcus Smart rumors ?

Yeah - Danny has not seen fit to at least stay in contact with Marcus and has now angered a guy who gives everything he has to the team and has clearly stated how much he wants to stay a Celtic - unlike someone else I could mention. It means something to him to put that jersey on.

Why does Danny do stuff like this and alienate players from the organization ? I am not asking that he offer the guy $12M per and hold a parade, but at the very least, stay in contact and make sure Marcus knows that you want him in Boston. Would that be so hard to do?

Danny publicly shops these guys and treats them like chess pieces. The Celts are getting the reputation of being a heartless organization that is only about business. Danny could take a lesson from Red. It's not that hard to make players feel appreciated, even while you are careful about the bottom line.  He is going to ruin all the hard work that has gone into this team.

In all fairness, it doesn't take a whole to anger Marcus now, does it? He's emotional, I have a feeling that plays as much of a part in the lack interest from other teams as much as his historically bad offense.

The Celtics made an offer believed to be in the range of $11m-$12m earlier this year, but Marcus thinks he's worth more. That's fine. Its the offseason now, Celtics extend the qualifying offer and basically say "you think you're worth more than what we offered? Go get that offer sheet." I don't see the problem there. Maybe he should direct his anger at his agent for not properly evaluating the market for him.

Yeah, the bold is absolutely key

[mctyson]

From my read on it Ainge is just letting the business run its course.  I think he legitimately likes Smart enough to pay him the money but with the way the team is set up it can't happen at that price.  And the market has been perfectly down for him unfortunately.

I'm sympathetic because the guy plays so hard and deserves to be payed.  I really do think if he ends up making like 9 or 10 million he is a lot better than guys making that much money. 

I just need this guy to be on the team.  I'm a big fan if people can't tell but I would be bummed about, especially because of his fit on a team that is going to have plenty of scoring anyways.  I hope it can happen for years but how it's going I am expecting a 1 or 2 year deal.  Hope to be wrong and he can be on for years to come.  He is truly one of my favorite players of all time from watching him over his time here and I think there's a lot more great play to come from him.

Lost in all of this is the fact that Ainge already made Smart an extension offer - before the season started in 2017. 

Smart rejected that because he believed he could get more from another team this offseason.  That obviously has not happened yet, and might not happen at all.  So the ball is really in his court at this point.  The Celtics have no reason to get this done quickly.

And if he signs the qualifying offer, that is just fine for the 2018-2019 Celtics.  He will be become unrestricted next year, yet that does not magically make him a more valuable player as no one is going to offer him a max deal. 

[Phantom255x]

I think we need to try to lock up Smart on a multi-year deal.

If he signs the QO, we keep him but probably only for a year. We don't keep his Bird Rights after this year (if he re-signs with QO), right?