Re: Marcus Smart

by **dboss** Wed Jul 18, 2018 1:51 pm

Woj has been a pretty reliable guy as far as reporting information. He footnotes his comments with the old according to a league source reference.

It however does not make a lot of sense to me.

Why would Danny do this if no other team has stepped up to make an offer for Smart?

Is Danny afraid that he will lose Smart to another team? That does not seem plausible as the Kings are the only team left that could put more money on the table and they have not prepared the so-called offer for Smart.

Danny may also believe that down the road Smart's salary may help complete a trade. A notion that has been mentioned on this board before.

The CAP and Luxury tax is suppose to go up for 2019-20 and even if AL opts in for the 2019-20 season his $30 million salary comes off the books for the 20-21 season. 2021 is the year where Jaylen would be getting a pay raise.

I guess something will get resolved sooner or later.

Danny will make the best decision for the team.

by **bobheckler** Wed Jul 18, 2018 1:55 pm

Adam Himmelsbach @AdamHimmelsbach
about 49 minutes ago
According to a league source, talks between Marcus Smart and the Celtics are "getting close" and "going in the right direction," and the hope is that a deal could be finalized within a week. Seems the Celtics have made their latest offer and Smart and his camp are considering it.

Bob

.

by **kdp59** Wed Jul 18, 2018 1:59 pm

IF you see a player as a key part on your rotation and you can lock him up for multiple years, you do it.

Danny waited for the market to set Smarts price and now is showing him he wants him here long term...smart move.

yes It will take us over the tax line this year, but if you want to play for a championship in the NBA that is the price of admission today.

this also keeps Danny's option MORE open next season, when Irving, Rozier, Morris are UFA's and Theis will be a RFA I think.

Having Brown and Smart along with a potential top 5 draft pick means Danny can go almost any way and even absorb Irving leaving for NY if it happens.

good deal and I for one am VERY glad Smart is back

by **gyso** Wed Jul 18, 2018 2:37 pm

kdp59 wrote:IF you see a player as a key part on your rotation and you can lock him up for multiple years, you do it.

Danny waited for the market to set Smarts price and now is showing him he wants him here long term...smart move.

yes It will take us over the tax line this year, but if you want to play for a championship in the NBA that is the price of admission today.

this also keeps Danny's option MORE open next season, when Irving, Rozier, Morris are UFA's and Theis will be a RFA I think.

Having Brown and Smart along with a potential top 5 draft pick means Danny can go almost any way and even absorb Irving leaving for NY if it happens.

good deal and I for one am VERY glad Smart is back

+1

My only additional comment would be that there are ways to get back under the tax line after signing $mart. (Lol)

If that is important to the Celtics brass, they will make it happen. If they think the best thing for the team's chance at a championship is to keep everyone, they will do that instead.

by **dboss** Wed Jul 18, 2018 2:42 pm

The Celtics are clearly a better team with Smart than without him. That may be the defining reason to pay him now

by **worcester** Wed Jul 18, 2018 2:44 pm

At long last.

by **dboss** Wed Jul 18, 2018 3:01 pm

If you clink on Woj tweet you will see some really bad things being said by Ben simmons

https://twitter.com/wojespn

by **Matty** Wed Jul 18, 2018 3:54 pm

worcester wrote:At long last.

no kidding, I really need some sleep

by **NYCelt** Wed Jul 18, 2018 3:59 pm

Having watched Manny Machado depart from my now even more lowly Orioles, I need Smart signed or I'll have to head for some serious therapy.

by **dboss** Wed Jul 18, 2018 4:34 pm

I think before we start to celebrate we may want to wait until a contract has been inked.

There are a couple of things about this report that has spun me into a mini conspiracy theory.

Woj references a source told ESPN. The league source provided a dollar figure between $46-$50 million for 4 years. That sounds exactly like the offer that his agent was floating around a few weeks ago.

This tells me that Happy Walters is probably the source and he is the one who engaged with Boston and not the other way around. Agents are the ones that like to float dollars and cents. He has attempted to negotiate through the media in the past and is probably doing it gain

If we read something that said according to a source close to the Celtics, etc., etc things would be more credible. The Celtics rarely put out stuff in the middle of a contract negotiation.

The Celtics want to get something done. Danny has expressed a strong inclination to retain Smart

A Sherrod jumps in with

A league source anticipated a deal would get done quickly for a number of reasons with one that stands out more than the others.

“They want him back, and he’s made it clear he wants to come back,” the source told NBC Sports Boston. “Both sides have a better idea of what his value is, in this market now and I think they can come to a number that works for both of them.”

I do not see how either side would know what his market value is since no team has put an offer on the table. I think this is more spin from Walters.

When the ink dries on a new contract I'll open up a bottle of champagne and celebrate.

by **worcester** Wed Jul 18, 2018 4:39 pm

Sounds to me like the market is saying $6.1M per year. If Danny offers $40M/4 Marcus should take it.

Dboss, your conspiracy theory is probably right.

by **RosalieTCeltics** Wed Jul 18, 2018 8:23 pm

It sounded to me like they were offering him the contract (or just about) that was offered to him last fall. They did not say it was signed though, they were still negotiating.

by **k_j_88** Wed Jul 18, 2018 8:28 pm

There's no incentive to sign Smart for this type of money when you can keep him and maintain cap flexibility for at least another year. I doubt this deal as discussed even exists.

KJ

by **dboss** Wed Jul 18, 2018 9:07 pm

RosalieTCeltics wrote:It sounded to me like they were offering him the contract (or just about) that was offered to him last fall. They did not say it was signed though, they were still negotiating.

The thing is we really do not know if the Celtics put a new offer on the table beyond the QO. If the source of this is Happy Waters I would be a bit more skeptical. I still see no business reason why Boston would exceed the QO in absence of Smart getting a better offer from another team.

If the reports are accurate I would think that the delay may be due to years and options and bottom line investment

by **Ktronic1** Wed Jul 18, 2018 9:46 pm

kdp59 wrote:IF you see a player as a key part on your rotation and you can lock him up for multiple years, you do it.

Danny waited for the market to set Smarts price and now is showing him he wants him here long term...smart move.

yes It will take us over the tax line this year, but if you want to play for a championship in the NBA that is the price of admission today.

this also keeps Danny's option MORE open next season, when Irving, Rozier, Morris are UFA's and Theis will be a RFA I think.

Having Brown and Smart along with a potential top 5 draft pick means Danny can go almost any way and even absorb Irving leaving for NY if it happens.

good deal and I for one am VERY glad Smart is back

+100 Flower Mound’s in the house!

by **bobheckler** Wed Jul 18, 2018 11:13 pm

gyso wrote:
kdp59 wrote:IF you see a player as a key part on your rotation and you can lock him up for multiple years, you do it.

Danny waited for the market to set Smarts price and now is showing him he wants him here long term...smart move.

yes It will take us over the tax line this year, but if you want to play for a championship in the NBA that is the price of admission today.

this also keeps Danny's option MORE open next season, when Irving, Rozier, Morris are UFA's and Theis will be a RFA I think.

Having Brown and Smart along with a potential top 5 draft pick means Danny can go almost any way and even absorb Irving leaving for NY if it happens.

good deal and I for one am VERY glad Smart is back

+1

My only additional comment would be that there are ways to get back under the tax line after signing $mart. (Lol)

If that is important to the Celtics brass, they will make it happen. If they think the best thing for the team's chance at a championship is to keep everyone, they will do that instead.

Ryan Bernardoni
@dangercart
A problem with the idea of trading Morris for no returning salary to avoid the tax is that there aren't a ton of teams that can take him without sending salary back.

I'll say again that, while I'm sure they would be happy to avoid the tax, it doesn't seem a high priority.

bob
MY NOTE:This is the problem now. Most teams have committed to all but the end of their benches by now and trading someone with a big enough contract to make a difference without having to take that salary back +/-25% will be tricky.

.

by **dboss** Thu Jul 19, 2018 12:00 am

Kdps

I agree with much of what you have shared except the reference for the implied assumption that smarts market value has been set.

Danny set a value for him last October. No team has bid under or over that offer. No team has made an offer period. We cannot even be certain that Danny put that old offer on the table.

When I hear a source connected with the Celtics I may feel more certain that a deal is getting done.

There has been so many false rumors that I am reluctant to believe any of them.

I am almost 100% sure a deal will get done since no other team appears ready to solicit his services.

Goodnite.

by **swish** Thu Jul 19, 2018 12:07 am

Put me down as being in favor of letting Smart leave - period - with Hayward and Rozier picking up all of Smarts minutes from last year - Smart in my opinion is quite expendable.

swish

by **jrleftfoot** Thu Jul 19, 2018 2:20 am

Perhaps we should wait and see how healthy Hayward and Irving are before assuming that all of Smart's minutes from last year can be picked up so easily.

by **bobheckler** Thu Jul 19, 2018 8:54 am

Mark Murphy
Mark Murphy @Murf56
about 18 minutes ago
Danny Ainge and Marcus Smart's agent, Happy Walters, are meeting today, according to source.

bob

.

by **jrleftfoot** Thu Jul 19, 2018 1:28 pm

Thank you jeezus..It appears that the nonpareil genius Danny Ainge has decided that Marcus Smart is worth 13 million a yeat for 4 years. Perhaps all the agent bashing, foot stomping finger pointing , and bashing of perhaps our most passionate player will cease and desist, or at least take it down a notch. I frequently ask myself why it is that fans so often devalue their own players. Whatever MS was or wasn't worth to the rest of the league, he is worth 52 million over 4 years to the Celtics, and I, for one, couldn't be happier. I expect that he may thrive this year surrounded by shooters, and be able to concentrate on distributing the ball, which he does better than TR or KI, and doing the other things that make him so valuable---- at least in the eyes of some.

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