After having their worst, and most inconsistent season since Danny Ainge traded Paul Pierce and company to the Brooklyn Nets about a decade ago, it was expected that the Boston Celtics would make some drastic changes.
What no one could have expected was what the Cs would do less than 24 hours after the Nets beat them in Game 5 of round one.
Ainge announced his retirement and, shortly thereafter, Brad Stevens was named his successor, leaving a gaping hole in Boston’s coaching staff. Stevens and Boston’s ownership have said they are going to take their time filling that hole and will consider multiple candidates for the job before they make a decision.
No matter who Stevens hires, it can be inferred that he will not make the same mistakes Ainge did during their tenure together. As much as Ainge did for the franchise, he has been leaving Brad Stevens out to dry for the past two seasons.
He has not made an effort to sign premier talent for the bench and has been reluctant to make significant moves at or before the deadline. Instead, Ainge has elected to keep the young guys intact and let Stevens figure out how to involve them in his high-level system despite very few of them being NBA ready.
Make no mistake, Ainge will go down as a Hall of Fame General Manager, but his shortcomings in recent memory are well documented and with Stevens being the recipient of the blame by the fans for these shortcomings, it’s unlikely he makes the same mistakes whilst leading the wat forward for the Boston Celtics.
He won’t want a coach to go through what he did after experiencing what he has the last three seasons.
Stevens will likely prioritize getting high-level and experienced veterans on the roster in place of younger players that are two or three seasons removed from being drafted. That means Aaron Nesmith, Romeo Langford, Payton Pritchard, Tremont Waters, Carsen Edwards, and Grant Williams are all likely to be on the chopping block this offseason.
But it’s not just the extremely young guys that might get the axe, as the same goes for Boston’s higher-level assets like Jaylen Brown, Robert Williams, and Marcus Smart.
I’ve already addressed Robert Williams’ situation, but Smart’s is a little different.
On the one hand, he provides championship-level value. There’s no denying that and Stevens knows it. His defense, passing, intangible leadership qualities, and shooting (on some nights) have won the Boston Celtics their fair share of playoff games.
However, with the Cs in the middle of the pack, Marcus Smart’s trade value may have to be weighed against his championship level value.
There is not a team in the league that would not want Marcus Smart, not a single team.
Multiple contenders would be willing to shell out to get him as well as other middle-of-the-pack teams. All this begs the question — what is Smart’s trade value?
As I previously stated, every executive in the league knows what he brings to the table but his age and contract value are massive pluses for any team looking to acquire him.
At 27 years old, he’s no longer a “young guy” but he’s also not an old guy past his prime. He’s a year away from an extension which most believe he is well worth, but, for now, he is making a modest $14 million which, in reality, is quite an easy number to match and, again, boosts his overall trade value.
In any scenario that Marcus Smart is traded, the Boston Celtics would likely not be getting an equal return back in terms of the talent they might receive. Teams will include draft capital to balance the scales to get Boston to accept the offer.
That said, even though Stevens should not be opposed to cashing in on Smart, I don’t think he pulls the trigger.
As his former coach, there’s no one that knows more about Marcus Smart than Brad Stevens does. This means Stevens knows firsthand what Smart brings to the table and how he might be able to help the Cs moving forward as they try and get back into true contention status.
The roster for the Boston Celtics lacks passing and, in a conference full of perimeter talent, they will need to load up on premier perimeter defenders.
Both of these skill sets are Smart’s strengths, and I don’t see Stevens pulling the trigger on a deal that does not get him back even one of these two strengths. Stevens won’t curse the next Celtics coach with what he lacked and he certainly won’t take away what he had.
Unless Stevens has a monumental move lined up, I don’t think he is going to cast Marcus Smart out to another team for some young players, average veterans, and average draft capital.
His coaching style did not revolve around young guys, there’s no reason to think his managing style will be any different.
As for the contract extension, I expect Smart to receive around four years, $80 million from Boston. A bit of an overpay maybe, but he is the perfect lead guard for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown moving forward and there’s nothing else on the market that is convincing enough for the Boston Celtics to move him prematurely.
Smart’s love for the city of Boston has been well documented, and he’s a perfect match for the franchise’s two best players.
I think it would be unwise of Stevens to rid the roster of one of the best role players in the NBA, and I don’t take Brad Stevens to be a very unwise person.