Is Marcus Smart Making Avery Bradley Expendable?

With the increased production from Marcus Smart, could the Celtics veteran be made available for trade?

Mar 4, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (36) and guard Avery Bradley (0) celebrate against the Utah Jazz during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports /

As the 2016-17 NBA season comes to a pause for this year’s All Star Break, it is time to reflect on one particular player on this young Celtics roster: Marcus Smart.

When drafted in 2014, Smart was believed to be the future starting point guard for the Celtics. Even though it is Isaiah Thomas who earned the honor of starting, Smart has been able to thrive as a starter while Avery Bradley is out with an achilles injury.

For a while, Smart was known as the team’s defensive bulldog, and now he is a dog with no leash, as he has vastly improved his offensive game as well.

Over the past 9 games so far for just the month of February alone he has averaged 12.8 points per game, along with 4.2 assists per game and not to mention an average of at least 3 steals per game as he set a new career high of 8 against the 76ers on Wednesday.

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With this years’ trade deadline approaching, fans constantly speculate who could be coming and going. Now that Smart has started to find his groove on offense, he is becoming an even more valuable player that the Celtics will not want to part with. It is reasonable to think: Does this mean that Bradley could be traded in a blockbuster?

Bradley has had a considerably impressive year for the games that he has been available. Unfortunately, Bradley has not played since January and could be available for a return on Friday against the Toronto Raptors.

Even though Bradley is almost back to his healthy self. With the trade deadline lingering in the distance, could the Celtic guard be packaged into a deal for a big name player to make the Celtics contenders? With the Wizards on the rise and the Cavaliers maintaining the 1st seed, the Celtics could use a star player to pair with Thomas and Al Horford to give them the edge.

With Smart’s continuous improvement, the Celtics may be able to finally make the move that everyone has been wanting them to.

Smart has proven that he is a permanent member of this team, as he has plenty of time to improve upon even his latest milestones. Without Marcus, the Celtics would have a big hole in their defense, which is why it is crucial to not let go of the future star.

Fortunately, Smart won’t be a free agent until the end of the 2017-18 season and it would be wise to sign him to a contract extension sooner rather than later.

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At age 22, Smart has worked hard to become a player that the Celtics need, as he could be one of the strongest guards in the modern NBA, as well as show the C’s that it may be time to make their next big trade.

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