Boston Celtics: 2 potential Marcus Smart-Atlanta Hawks trades

Why the Boston Celtics do it

John Collins has recently proven to be a capable starting center for a team that could string together wins. Alongside Danilo Gallinari, Collins served as a small-ball 5 capably against the Houston Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers and the team won by an average of 15 points in the two contests.

While that is a small sample size (and neither opponent qualifies as anything resembling a contender), Collins proved capable of defensively, as the team held a big Cavaliers frontcourt (Jarrett Allen, Larry Nance, JaVale McGee) to just 23 points combined.

Bogdan Bogdanovic has left a bit to be desired, with his point total and efficiency from the field down across the board, but he showed flashes of having super-sixth man capabilities in his 23-point, six-rebound, three-assist performance in under 30 minutes against the Oklahoma City Thunder last week.

Adding the two at the expense of Smart hurts the Boston Celtics defense, but drastically improves their offensive potential.

Why the Atlanta Hawks do it

Given their interest in Smart, the Hawks must know that giving up two win-now pieces is necessary. That said, Gallinari’s presence in Atlanta makes the loss of Collins hurt less, while Cam Reddish, Kevin Huerter, and De’Andre Hunter have always made the Bogdanovic signing a head-scratcher.