Boston Celtics: Marcus Smart linked to Jazz as ‘surprise trade target’ by B/R

The Boston Celtics are starting to look less like potential trade deadline sellers by the day as they continue to stack up wins to close out the first month of the year.

The schedule is lightening up as February 10th draws nearer, with the Cs having just three games against teams currently eligible for the postseason until then on the docket.

With all of that said, Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey believes Boston could still end up parting with one of their core members, Marcus Smart, in a deal with a contender out west that has not proven elite enough to last very long in the postseason the past few seasons, the Utah Jazz.

Bailey evoked the name of former Boston Celtics general manager and current CEO of the Jazz, Danny Ainge, in his explanation for how the two teams could begin discussions for the perennial DPOY candidate:

"Danny Ainge, now the alternate governor and CEO of the Jazz, should set his sights on a longtime role player from his former team…Marcus Smart has never experienced the life of a “primary offensive option” in the NBA. He’s spent his career taking on difficult defensive assignments, moving the ball and taking threes. Given his career 31.9 three-point percentage, some of those shots feel wildly ill-advised, but Smart brings enough intangibles to make up for that."

In talking about what the Cs could get back in return, Bailey mentioned several intriguing trade targets.

The first is Jordan Clarkson, who he repeatedly talks about replacing Smart with. Clarkson is having a down-year offensively, which is damning considering that end of the floor is where he earns his money. Rolling the dice on Clarkson is a worthwhile gamble considering how vital he was to Utah’s success just a season ago. A change of scenery could be just what the doctor ordered for the 29-year-old.

The other name mentioned was Jared Butler, the rookie out of Baylor who helped engineer that school’s first NCAA title run in 2021. He has seen limited time on the floor in the NBA but has still been able to convert on 38% of his long-range looks. Butler would be an excellent return piece for the Cs, and a deal involving those two players and Smart may be seriously worth exploring for the Boston Celtics front office…