The Celtics are in as good a position as all but maybe a few teams in the NBA. Just by virtue of adding Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving, they will likely be the favorites to come out of the East next season, and, probably, be legitimate title contenders.
Ainge said yesterday he’s probably only going to tinker around the edges of this team, which means guys like Greg Monroe are probably gone.
The highest priority for the Celtics right now is figuring out what to do with Marcus Smart. On Boston.com, I wrote about four possible ways his restricted free agency pans out. One somewhat popular opinion I address is him just signing his qualifying offer:
For Smart, that would mean playing for $6 million this upcoming season and then marching into the summer of 2019 without the tether of Boston potentially matching anything. The bet would be that he could make up that difference with a much bigger deal than what he could get under the current circumstances.
There are some in the national media, ESPN’s Zach Lowe most notably, who feel this is a real possibility. It’s not without risk, though, because Smart could (a) get hurt and lose out on a lot of money, (b) completely misjudge how next summer’s free agency will go, or (c) not really improve and basically get the same kind of contract next year that he could have gotten this summer, thus wasting a year of his career playing for half what he could actually be making.
It’s a gamble, and any player making that bet is putting a lot of pressure on himself. Look no further than Nerlens Noel, who misplayed his hand in Dallas, turned down a $70 million dollar deal, and signed his qualifying offer instead.
I’d honestly be surprised if he did that. In fact, I have a scenario on Boston.com that splits the difference, pays Smart plenty of money, and carries much less risk for him than this option.
Check it out and let me know what you think.
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