Marcus Smart was a polarizing figure during his time with the Boston Celtics. Half the fanbase couldn’t stand him and felt like he had too large of an offensive role, while others would’ve died for him and the sheer amount of heart he played with each and every night.
His Celtics tenure came to an end in 2023 when he was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in the three-team deal that landed the Cs Kristaps Porzingis. Since then, things haven’t exactly been smooth for Smart. He’s missed a significant amount of time due to injury, appearing in just 54 of a possible 164 games.
The 30-year-old guard, now a member of the Washington Wizards after a midseason trade, seems like he could be headed for another change of scenery. Washington currently has 18 players on their roster, with all three two-way contract spots filled, after re-signing Marvin Bagley on Thursday, who they’d traded in exchange for Smart back in February.
As the Wizards potentially look to lean into their young core, waiving or trading veteran players, like Smart, could make sense for them.
What would it take for Marcus Smart to return to the Celtics?
With many online beginning to realize this, there has been some buzz about a reunion between the Celtics and the former No. 6 overall pick. Nothing substantial is being reported, but fan fiction is in the air.
Let’s talk about it.
The first question is, how would Smart be finding his way back to the Celtics?
Would it be via trade or buyout?
If we’re talking about the former, then it might be tough. Boston still has a financial bind to deal with heading into the season. As of today, July 11, they’re roughly $300k over the second-apron line, which brings on several basketball-related penalties.
"It was really important for us to, again, get out of that penalty box in a lot of ways," President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens said of the threshold earlier this week (via CLNS). "Because you can feel those, and those are real things."
So, if the team were to make a trade to bring Smart back, it would have to help them towards that goal.
Perhaps something like this could work:
Boston receives:
- Marcus Smart
Washington receives:
- Anfernee Simons
This scenario would shave an additional $8 million off of Boston’s salary cap and put them comfortably below the second apron. Plus, Smart’s gritty game could fit well with the 2025-26 edition of the team. His willingness to make winning plays could spark something in a group that doesn’t have much direction. He was a big part of some of the overachieving Celtics teams in the mid-2010s.
The Celtics find themselves in a weird spot with Jayson Tatum rehabbing a torn Achilles and having offloaded Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis to save some cash. It’s the first time in a while where they don’t have serious championship aspirations, though Stevens has stated he won’t put a ceiling on the team’s potential on multiple occasions.
For Washington, this deal would make a little less sense. First, they’d still be overstaffed with 18 players on the roster. It’d be a lateral move for them in that regard. Then, there’s the wrinkle to this where Simons doesn’t really offer them anything that would justify giving him minutes over younger guards like No. 6 overall pick Tre Johnson or Bub Carrington. Sure, he’s a better player at the moment, but he won’t be a part of the team’s future unless they plan on re-signing him next summer.
Of course, if there’s no logical trade scenario, then the buyout avenue could still be an option. That is, if the Cs manage to cut back a total of $12 million in salary to get below the first apron. That threshold currently prevents them from signing any waived player who was making more than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($14.1 million).
Essentially, they’d still have to trade Simons, or a combination of Sam Hauser and another player, to make this happen.
Even in that case, Smart would still have to want to be back in Boston. It’s quite possible that he’d be open to it. The former Defensive Player of the Year had a great nine years with the Celtics and has spoken fondly of his time with the team. But if he’d prefer to join an immediate contender, then Boston might not be an option for him.
Regardless, it may be for the best that the two parties remain separated. A reunion could result in Smart's (mostly) fondly remembered tenure being tainted if things go sideways.