Boston Celtics had framework to trade fan favorite away ‘in advance’

The Boston Celtics reportedly had the framework to trade away Marcus Smart in advance before the original Kristaps Porzingis proposal — one that included sending Malcolm Brogdon to the Los Angeles Clippers in a three-team deal with the Washington Wizards — fell through according to Boston.com’s Tom Westerholm.

“In other words, there’s a good chance the Celtics knew they could put together the framework to trade Smart in advance and were able to pivot quickly when the Clippers nearly torpedoed the deal,” Westerholm reported.

That seems to suggest that Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens begrudgingly dealt Smart away only after doing anything to find an alternative package involving another member of the backcourt.

Boston Celtics will be using second-round picks to acquire win-now veterans

For those wondering if the Cs were still all-in on the future, having acquired picks in a deal that sent away the team’s heart and soul, the answer is a clear yes based on Westerholm’s reporting.

“(The Celtics’ acquired second-round picks) replenish the cupboards for the Celtics, who will only make their own second-round pick three times in the next seven years,” Westerholm wrote. “Expect the Celtics to continue attaching picks to trades in exchange for helpful veterans whenever the possibility exists.”

If anything, the moves Boston made started a second act in the current win-now era of the Celtics. Smart was the face of the first half, having come in and brought the team to the postseason every year he was there. This new era, Westerholm writes, will still maintain all the other big names like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

“But the last 48 hours felt like the start of something new. Without trading away Brown or Tatum, Stevens seems to have ushered in a new era – a new look with a number of familiar faces,” Westerholm writes.