Marcus Smart hyped up after a block against the Orlando Magic. ( Photo Courtesy: CelticsWire.USATODAY.com, Justin Quinn)
This season the Boston Celtics are having an interesting season. One week, the ball club has a winning streak, the next week a losing streak. This has caused the Celtics to have a 27-25 record while trying to stay in 9th place in the eastern conference. If the season were to end today, the Celtics would be playing in the new NBA format called the NBA Play-In tournament. In 2021, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver created this format to allow only the 7-10 seed in the East and West to go ahead against one another in their conference. The two remaining teams in each conference will move on to the playoffs. However, the Celtics dynasty has turned into a very dark environment with the playoff picture very far away.
In the month of January and going into February, multiple players on the active roster were mentioned in trade talks each week before the NBA trade deadline that occurs February 10th. Celtics stars including the J brothers, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are included in those major trade talks as well as Marcus Smart.
Mention of Smart is not surprising since there have been numerous incidents involving him. He has become known for calling out his teammates and letting his temper get the best of him. Throughout this season, Smart has criticized his Celtics teammates. He has accused Brown and Tatum of not passing the ball. In November, he called out teammates after Boston lost a game. During the 2021-2022 preseason, Smart missed the final game because he was suspended for missing the team flight to Florida. Also, during the 2020 NBA Bubble, he was in a shouting match with Jaylen Brown after game two of the eastern conference finals’ loss against the Miami Heat. Boston lost the series in 6 games.
Celtics bench point guard Dennis Schroder who is known for declining an 84-million-dollar extension in February 2021 from the Los Angeles Lakers is on the trading block as well as Celtics big man, Al Holford. What the Celtics need to do since they need a point guard is trade Dennis Schroder, Al Holford, and Josh Richardson, to the Houston Rockets for John Wall, Jae’Sean Tate, and a 2023 first round draft pick, unprotected via the Milwaukee Bucks. If the Celtics just want to move Marcus Smart, they should consider moving Smart to the Atlanta Hawks for John Collins. The Hawks would receive Smart and Jason Richardson.
The city of Boston has not seen a basketball championship since the big three era of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen in 2008. Celtics have not been to the NBA Finals since 2010 when they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games. Since that time, the Celtics have made it to the eastern conference finals 4 times in the last 12 years and have lost. These are disappointing times for the Celtics franchise and fans. If the Celtics want to see their 18th NBA banner, they will need to trade and play smart.
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