Marcus Smart has his extension. According to multiple reports, the Celtics and Smart have agreed to a new four-year deal worth $77 million.
The new contract starts after this season and will run through the 2025-26 season. It is the maximum Smart could sign for, and is fully guaranteed. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports there is no player option.
Smart had career highs in points (13.1) and assists (5.7) last season, and he could be in line for even more work as a point guard this season, as new coach Ime Udoka has expressed a desire to put the ball in Smart's hands.
Smart, 27, is entering his eighth season with the Celtics, making him the longest-tenured member of the team. He has twice been named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, in 2019 and 2020.
Much of Brad Stevens' offseason has been devoted to creating and maintaining financial flexibility. While this deal might appear to run counter to that on the surface, it actually shouldn't limit the Celtics much at all going forward.
As Audacy NBA Insider and former Celtics assistant general manager Ryan McDonough explained on Gresh & Keefe last week, it's not like the Celtics would've been able to just turn around and give this money to another free agent next year anyways.
"One important thing to keep in mind -- and this is where the NBA salary cap is complex -- if the Celtics just chose to let Marcus Smart walk a year from now in free agency without doing a sign-and-trade or anything, they’re not going to be able to replace him with a comparable player," McDonough said.
"Their team salary next year with [Jayson[ Tatum and [Jaylen] Brown’s salaries, [Al] Horford only has a partial guarantee, but it’s a significant partial guarantee -- I bring it up because it’s not like if they don’t spend $17 million to extend Marcus Smart, they can go spend $17 million on somebody else. That is probably unlikely unless they completely gut the rest of their roster. So I would give him the extension."
McDonough also pointed out that even if the Celtics end up wanting to move on from Smart at some point, he should have enough value around the league to be an asset in a trade. In fact, Smart signed at this money could even help the Celtics match salaries in a potential trade for a star player to add to Tatum and Brown.
"Whether he plays the next five years in a Celtics uniform or down the line if things don’t work out, I think teams around the league will value Smart on a contract that locks him in through his prime and pays him less than $20 million a year," McDonough said.
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