Marcus Smart and Boston Celtics have agreed to a four-year $52M deal according to Yahoo Sports.
Story on Marcus Smart and the Boston Celtics reaching agreement on four-year, $52M deal: https://t.co/KBu2kj1Hkb
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 19, 2018
Smart’s free agency journey has certainly been an interesting one. The former 2014 number 6 overall pick was initially offered a $6M tender from Boston that would’ve made him a restricted free agent. After testing the market, it was clear that nobody was going to pay Smart what he thought he was worth.
According to ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan, Smart was not shy about his feelings regarding the situation.
“To be honest, I’m worth more than 12-14 million,” Smart told ESPN. “Just for the things I do on the court that don’t show up on the stat sheet. You don’t find guys like that. I always leave everything on the court, every game. Tell me how many other players can say that.”
Smart is clearly offensively challenged, but knows his place on the team. He doesn’t shoot well from the three, or anywhere else really. Many of the things that Smart does well on the court generally go unnoticed by the casual fan and he understands that fully. The aspects of his game where he does excel don’t always amount to an eye-popping stat sheet, but there’s no doubt that he’s the driving force behind many of Boston’s momentous game-breaking runs. He dives on the floor for 50/50 balls that lead to extra possessions and fast breaks, plays lockdown defense on quicker guards, and can hold his own on the block due to his stocky frame. It would be hard to imagine Marcus in another jersey after he proved to be the team’s highest energy player off the bench. Smart will look to continue his role as the team’s defensive juggernaut while hopefully improving his miserable 36% FG percentage. All in all, this is perfect for the Celtics and Smart alike.
