7 Role players Celtics could target to complement Jayson Tatum

5. Dennis Smith Jr.

Dennis Smith Jr.’s NBA career has had a lot of twists and turns. Early in his career, he showed immense potential with the Dallas Mavericks, but was still shipped out of town, due to reported culture challenges.

Smith was traded to the New York Knicks and averaged 14.7 points in his first season, although the efficiency (or lack thereof) left a lot to be desired. Smith has been on four different teams in the last four seasons, all the while being stuck on lottery teams.

At 26-years-old, Smith still has a lot of basketball left in the tank. And he’s a veteran that every team could use.

He’s capable of being a spark plug off the bench and essentially being a microwave scorer. In other words, he’s largely reversed the early narratives that were churned out about him.

His high-end energy has made him a key cog in the machine for Brooklyn, not to mention his defensive efforts. To the latter, his point-of-attack defense should be especially intriguing to the Celtics’ brass.

And he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in the summer and would certainly love to play for a team that would give him the opportunity to contend, especially considering that he’s never played in the postseason since joining the league in 2017.