New York Knicks: Celtics Reach Out to Knicks About Marcus Smart
By TJ Wengert
After signing free agent small forward Gordon Hayward, the Boston Celtics are now in a salary cap pickle. They need to move some salary to officially sign Hayward. The New York Knicks may be able to take advantage of Boston’s need to shed salary by taking one of their talented young players.
The Boston Celtics have agreed to terms with top free agent Gordon Hayward. However, they need cap space to make it official.
Reports have been saying Jae Crowder, Terry Rozier, and Avery Bradley were the players on the trade block. However, yesterday, the Celtics reached out to the New York Knicks to see if there was any interest in Marcus Smart.
Ian Begley later tweeted that the Knicks’ level of interest in Smart was unclear.
The 23-year-old is on the last year of his rookie contract and could be a nice addition to the Knicks’ roster.
He would instantly be the best defensive player on the team. Smart can guard all three wing positions, providing lineup flexibility. Smart is also a skilled passer and ball handler, providing more versatility and playmaking to the offense.
The weakness in Smart’s game is his shooting. Last season, Smart played just over 30 minutes a game, averaging 10.6 points per game, while shooting 35.9%. Not to mention a rough a 28.3% three-point shooting percentage.
Another element to these negotiations is that the Celtics are now working with a different Knicks front office.
These two teams were in talks about a Kristaps Porzingis trade right up until the NBA Draft, but that was under the Phil Jackson regime.
Now that the Knicks have split ways with Jackson, odds are the Knicks will make less boneheaded moves.
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If the Knicks are smart, they will realize the Celtics are the desperate ones. They reached out to the Knicks. The Celtics need to dump some salary in order to officially sign Hayward.
So for once, the Knicks can have the leverage in a trade. This could lead to the New York Knicks adding a good, young player to the roster at a low salary.
For a team in a rebuilding process, they will take as many of those as they can.