Marcus Smart’s trade value drastically overblown in Boston Celtics proposal

There will be plenty of offseason mock trade proposals fired off involving the Boston Celtics due to the way they bowed out of the postseason, but not all mocks are created equally; some will overvalue or undervalue certain players for dramatic effect. One such deal that does the former for Marcus Smart was concocted by NESN’s Jason Ounpraseuth.

The deal Ounpraseuth has in mind would swap out Smart for Rockets guard Jalen Green, Jae’Sean Tate, and the No. 4 pick in the 2023 NBA draft. The deal would send out an 11.5-point-per-game scorer who will be 30 by the start of the next postseason for a 21-year-old who just finished in the top 25 for scoring, a reserve wing who scored two fewer points and as many rebounds per contest in 10 fewer minutes per game, and a potential franchise cornerstone with the No. 4 overall pick in this year’s NBA draft.

While Boston Celtics fans can dream about Rafael Stone drastically overvaluing Smart and making the Cs better in the interim and likely much better in the long term, such a trade will ultimately be confined to fantasy.

Marcus Smart’s trade value overblown to the Boston Celtics

The most likeliest outcome this offseason is likely Smart sticking in a Celtics uniform since there is a Grand Canyon-sized discrepancy between his actual value and the perceived value many within the Boston organization and fanbase have for him.

While the Cs can certainly use a true point guard in their lineup, the playmaking of Smart, Jayson Tatum, Malcolm Brogdon, Derrick White, Al Horford, and Jaylen Brown — who all dished out at least three dimes per game during the 2022-23 regular season — held down the fort just fine for a second-ranked offensive attack.

Smart being involved in a Brown blockbuster isn’t the most far-fetched arrangement, but again, the likelihood of the Celtics and another franchise agreeing on No. 36’s true value likely keeps him in Cs green for the foreseeable future.