Boston Celtics: B/R trade sends Marcus Smart to Bulls for PG, draft pick

It could be a busy offseason for the Boston Celtics assuming the Brooklyn Nets are able to finish them off in their first-round playoff series this weekend. Game 3 takes place tonight at the TD Garden, while the potential series-clincher takes place Sunday night in Beantown as well.

Should the Cs lose out as expected, the offseason will be make-or-break in the tenures of both Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge. Boston’s GM has already guaranteed the returns of himself ad Stevens for 2021-22 (as well as Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown) but he failed to guarantee there wouldn’t be other major changes as well.

So with that in mind, we need to operate under the assumption that the rest of the roster is far from locked into the future of the franchise. In fact, a trade (or multiple) seems like the only way for the Cs to ensure that next season won’t end up the way 2020-21 did because of the increased competition in the Eastern Conference.

Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey–in coming up with several trades to rescue superstars who missed the NBA playoffs–was able to come up with a doozy of a deal involving fan-favorite and former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart.

The superstar in question in his example is Zach LaVine, and the deal with the Chicago Bulls is one that yields a return that includes a potential long-term option in the backcourt and draft capital:

"The Trade: Coby White, Al-Farouq Aminu and a 2025 first-round pick for Marcus SmartLike Patrick Beverley’s with the Clippers, Marcus Smart’s time with the Boston Celtics may have simply run its course. He and the team have been to three conference finals, and Smart has played plenty of stout defense over his seven seasons, but a shakeup could benefit both.Coby White has a ways to go, particularly on defense, but he’s six years younger than Smart and probably has a higher offensive ceiling. His high-volume three-point shooting would pull defenders away from the rim, giving Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown more slashing lanes.As for Al-Farouq Aminu, he’s in the deal almost entirely for salary-matching purposes. But if he had a late-career resurgence, he could replace some of Smart’s defense."

Coby White improved his numbers in 2020-21, but not to the point of being the clear #1 floor general option for a Bulls team that fell outside the Eastern Conference’s top 10 teams. Another lottery trip cannot be what Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Arturas Karnisovas and GM Marc Eversley had in mind when they acquired Nikola Vucevic at the trade deadline, so a major shakeup should be expected once more this offseason.

Dealing the 2019 first-rounder makes sense if Smart is the return…even if it means giving up a draft pick to get the deal done. The pick is several years away, but that could benefit the Boston Celtics if the Bulls still don’t have things figured out by then.

Al-Farouq Aminu could be a hit-or-miss throw-in, but in theory his addition is one that could shore up the frontcourt defensively. A best case scenario would be Aminu rediscovering the 3-point touch he displayed in Portland, where he shot 35% alongside the star duo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum.

Bailey did a nice job coming up with a realistic swap to consider for both sides here. While losing Smart would be a difficult blow, the return sets the Boston Celtics up nicely in the next five years if White could thrive in a new city and the Bulls’ 2025 pick ends up a favorable one.