Boston Celtics: 3 potential future Marcus Smart free agent destinations

Marcus Smart bolts the Boston Celtics for home part two

While Smart’s hometown of Flower Mound, Texas is far closer to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex than it is the city of Houston, Texas is a different world than Boston no matter where you find yourself on the map.

The Houston Rockets don’t figure to be players in the 2021-22 season, but two seasons of bottoming out could lead to the front office changing course and competing in 2022-23 and onward.

Smart could land a big payday depending on who is paying the price, and Houston’s books will be close to clear, with the expiring contracts of John Wall, Christian Wood, and Eric Gordon being the only cap figures on the books at the moment.

There is a match, but it depends on who else the Rockets fill the roster with. Smart does not bring superstar potential or alpha dog status to a contender. Perhaps the Rockets could feature him if they are not committed to contending in 2022-23.

No matter the case, seeing Smart back in Texas would be an easier pill to swallow than seeing him provide intangibles for Tom Thibodeau’s New York Knicks or Steve Nash’s Brooklyn Nets.