Boston Celtics: 3 essential role players Cs shouldn’t deal away

Boston Celtics role player they shouldn’t deal #3: Marcus Smart

Some fans may object to the role player designation for Marcus Smart considering his Team USA stint and the fact that he oftentimes can be one of the top shot leaders on the team…even in the postseason.

That said, Smart is one of the most essential role players in the NBA. This current brutal Boston Celtics stretch–one that has the team sitting at .500 more than half-way through the season and in the bottom half of the playoff picture in the east–shows just how much the team misses his defensive tenacity and improved facilitation on the offensive end (career-high six assists per game in 2020-21).

Any deal that would help land a true difference-maker might have to include Smart. His $13 million cap figure makes him one of the non-Jays salaries that could be used to complement that duo with a third star.

Starting point guard Kemba Walker makes almost 3x that much and has not been contributing to winning basketball until the C’s recent two-game win streak. That said, the schedule is about to intensify, with four out of their next five being against projected postseason opponents and two of them being against the top teams in the west (Los Angeles Clippers, Utah Jazz).

A losing stretch could have Ainge seeing red, and if he does enter trade discussions with guns blazing, Smart needs to be a name that remains on the Boston Celtics roster on March 26th and beyond.