Boston Celtics: Daily Knicks proposes Marcus Smart for Frank Ntilikina swap

Interest in Marcus Smart this offseason will fluctuate from team to team due to the unpredictability of the Boston Celtics star’s offensive output, but some teams will value the former Defensive Player of the Year for what he can do on the point prevention side of the ball.

Perhaps no team in the league could benefit from having another lockdown defender quite like the New York Knicks. NY ranked last in the league in pace in 2020-21 and forged its identity with its studly defense, which was ranked third in defensive efficiency this past season.

Adding an elite on-ball defender and an aggressive passing lane disruptor to Tom Thibadeau’s defensive schemes is a match made in heaven, and Daily Knicks wants to make it happen.

DK’s Bradley Dressler came up with a mock trade for the former lottery pick that includes a former Knicks lottery pick and a few draft picks in return:

Such a deal is one worth looking at for the new President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens. Adding extra draft picks for a potential blockbuster deal for a superstar in the future is a prudent long-term strategy, but there is a fatal flaw in this trade that likely prevents it from happening this offseason.

Ntilikina is a restricted free agent, meaning any deal would have to be a sign-and-trade. Stevens might not be opposed to the kind of cap maneuvering necessary to facilitate a sign-and-trade, but moving mountains–they are currently more than $20 million over the salary cap line of $109 million–to land him sounds a little far-fetched.

For Kawhi Leonard? Maybe Stevens would be more comfortable butchering the roster around Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum to open up the cap room for a sign-and-trade.

But not for Ntilikina. Perhaps the Cs could look into returning a guy like Immanuel Quickley instead, though it isn’t clear how the Knicks front office currently values their 2020-21 rookie.

The Boston Celtics and NY Knicks have made deals before, but it’s unlikely this proposal goes down as the fourth to ever happen between the two teams.