Fansided

NBA Free Agency 2018: 20 best players available

By Micah Wimmer

NEW ORLEANS, LA - MARCH 22: Isaiah Thomas #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts before a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on March 22, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - MARCH 22: Isaiah Thomas #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts before a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on March 22, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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CLEVELAND, OH – MAY 21: Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Celtics looks on in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2018 NBA Playoffs on May 21, 2018 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH – MAY 21: Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Celtics looks on in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2018 NBA Playoffs on May 21, 2018 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /

15. Marcus Smart

SMARF, I mean, Marcus Smart is a perplexing player, a player whose market will be as interesting to watch as anyone else’s. Smart is certainly a valuable player, but figuring how valuable he is, and how that value even manifests itself in the first place, is a tricky thing. He’s one of those players whose value may be largely particular to his current context and situation – not to discount how good he is at what he does – but a team could easily find themselves overpaying for Smart, in part to get him away from the Celtics, and then not know what exactly to do with him. And it will also be interesting to see how much the Celtics are willing to pay to retain Smart when extensions for Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum will all need to be accounted for in the next three seasons.

All of that is to say that Smart does make the Celtics a better team, and is likely to make any team better, which is at times hard to imagine considering that he’s a perimeter player who really can’t shoot well at all, shooting just 36 percent overall this past season. Nevertheless, Boston had a net rating of 6.5 with Smart on the floor during this past regular season. Additionally, their already league leading defense was even better by 2.1 points per 100 possessions with lineups including Smart, per NBA.com. Smart is a very good, extremely tenacious defender who was a major part of what made Boston successful all season, and if they are forced to part with him this summer, it won’t be an easy or painless decision.

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