Jeff Goodman sees Ben Simmons as better Cs fit than Marcus Smart

In the span of a few minutes, Jeff Goodman of Stadium said that Marcus Smart was not the best fit for the Boston Celtics at point guard and then implied that Ben Simmons would be, through the use of a facetious throat clear and murmuring of the Philadelphia 76ers’ point guard’s name.

The take is one that some may doubt at the moment given the problems that Simmons has caused in the Philadelphia 76ers locker room at the moment. His current status is that he’ll be getting right mentally before re-entering the lineup.

Then again, the Sixers would go for Simmons swap if it resulted in him getting better, so it’s no ironclad guarantee that he’ll be returning for sure. The amount of time he plans on taking is undefined as of right now.

What’s not undefined is Smart’s standing in the Cs lineup. Ime Udoka has deployed the 2014 lottery pick at both starting guard positions in both a lead guard role and as a wing with Dennis Schroder handling more of the on-ball duties.

He’s the longest tenured Celtic and someone that has been with the organization almost as long as Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens has. His departure would be shocking at this point, especially for a damaged asset like Simmons.

Trading Marcus Smart for Ben Simmons doesn’t solve lineup issues

Acquiring Simmons’ salary would require more than just Smart in a deal. The Cs would have to lose capable bodies on salaries to bridge that gap and draft consideration to bring in a guy who still wouldn’t smoothly fit in the lineup unless deployed at either power forward or center because of a sore lack of shooting.

The ‘Jays’ need all the space possible on the floor to operate at peak levels. Simmons would be a step backwards for Stevens and co. with what we can assume it would take to land him.