Marcus Smart was being thrown around in trade rumors all week ahead of Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET deadline.
But not because the Boston Celtics were actively trying to shop him.
The guard was involved in a report that the Celtics and Orlando Magic were engaged in discussions to acquire Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier, but swapping them for Smart didn’t seem to make much sense.
Apparently the Celtics thought so too, because they made part of that deal, trading for Fournier, but Smart is staying put. It looks like that was always part of the plan unless any undeniable offers came through for him.
“Maybe the biggest winner here is Marcus Smart,” Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald tweeted Thursday. “According to a source, Ainge had assured his guard that he wasn’t being offered around — that his name was being brought up strictly by interested teams.”
This is good news for the Celtics, whose defense has struggled this year, especially while Smart was out for a few weeks with an injury. Say what you want about Smart’s shot selection (which has significantly improved over the years), but his contributions to the team are important — whether they show up in the box score or not.
Now the revamped Celtics look to turn their season around. Hopefully the All-Defensive First Teamer is a big part of that and he continues to orchestrate their defense and organize the offense.
