Analyst out on rumored Marcus Smart replacement for the Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics’ rumored free agent Marcus Smart replacement, Patrick Beverley, is someone that Boston.com’s Chad Finn is “out on” — with the recently traded Monte Morris being someone he would’ve preferred before the Washington Wizards traded him to the Detroit Pistons.
“I am out, adamantly, on the idea of Patrick Beverley, a cheap, inauthentic Smart facsimile,” Finn wrote. “I was in on prying Monte Morris and his career 5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio away from the Wizards before he was reportedly dealt to the Pistons for a second-round pick.”
With the trade of Smart and the desire for the Cs to trade away Malcolm Brogdon, there is definitely a need at point guard for the team this offseason after having an overloaded backcourt during the 2022-23 season.
Analyst on what the Boston Celtics should do with their frontcourt
Finn sees the Boston Celtics frontcourt as one certain to see change — in the form of Grant Williams getting an offer sheet the team wouldn’t be able to match –, but he doesn’t want to see Robert Williams III involved in trade rumors or Blake Griffin sign elsewhere after serving as a positive force in the locker room.
“I want them to keep Grant Williams but don’t expect them to,” Finn wrote. “I am fully opposed to hearing Robert Williams’s name in trade rumors. I hope Blake Griffin, who handled the decline from stardom with grace and humor, somehow sticks around as a good-culture guy.”
The “Time Lord” hasn’t been healthy for the past several seasons, but the double-big arrangement with Al Horford has been a staple of some of the C’s best defensive lineups. Having a three-man big-man rotation of Williams, Horford, and Kristaps Porzingis gives the franchise its best frontcourt year. At this point, the frontcourt is solved pending what happens with Williams. If he doesn’t return, Oshae Brissett could be his direct replacement.
The backcourt needs attention. Just no attention to Beverley if Finn has something to say about it.