NBA Trade Rumors: Celtics exploring trades for Marcus Smart
Marcus Smart has been admired by the Celtics fanbase for the duration of his time with the franchise. It appears other teams admire him as well, and the Celtics are exploring the strength of this admiration.
The New York Times Marc Stein reported that the Denver Nuggets have emerged as a potential trade destination for the Celtics Marcus Smart.
Denver is among the teams that has explored Marcus Smart trade scenarios with Boston, according to league sources. Emmanuel Mudiay has been made available, sources say, but the Celts covet a first-round pick for Smart
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 5, 2018
Smart is a Celtics lifer who was drafted by the team with the sixth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. In his rookie season he achieved All-Rookie second team honors with averages of 7.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game, shooting 34-percent from deep. He helped the team make the playoffs for the first time under head coach Brad Stevens.
In the seasons since, Smart has seen incremental increases in minutes per game. He averaged 27 minutes his rookie season and now averages 30.3 minutes. He’s a key part of the Celtics system as he’s a strong versatile defender who can guard multiple positions, a good rebounder, can help run the offense, and occasionally catches fire from deep.
Many fans would describe him as a valuable player whose impact doesn’t show up in the box score and one they wouldn’t want to see leave. Stein’s report shows that the Celtics front office echoes these sentiments as they seek a first round pick for the scrappy guard.
However, the performances Terry Rozier has put out in recent games — averages of 16.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 5.8 assists in the last week — due to the absence of Smart probably makes the front office more interested in dealing him as they may see a higher ceiling for Rozier.
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Emmanuel Mudiay, the player the Nuggets have apparently made available, is a first round pick. He was selected with the seventh overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft but hasn’t played anywhere near the potential he was touted to have.
Many teams appear to be stingy with their first round picks this season, which makes the likelihood of Smart being traded appear to be very unlikely.
Smart is still on the sidelines at the moment, recovering from a hand laceration from swiping at a picture frame.