Bill Simmons Floats ‘Logical’ Trade Involving Celtics’ Marcus Smart

The Boston Celtics reportedly have already explored potential trade options for Grant Williams with the NBA offseason heating up.

But while many believe Williams, an impending restricted free agent, will ultimately remain with the Celtics, would trading another key piece off Boston’s roster make sense? The Ringer’s Bill Simmons sure thinks so and proposed a trade for the Celtics on the latest episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast.”

“I think this trade is really logical, I think it’s exceedingly fair and I don’t know which team would turn it down,” Simmons said. “The teams are the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks: Tim Hardaway and the No. 10 pick for Marcus Smart. And that’s the trade.”

It has been floated already that the Celtics might look to part ways with one of their three premier guards, seeing a repetition in skill set out of Smart, Malcolm Brogdon and Derrick White. But it has been Brogdon’s name which has been put in trade rumors the most so far since the season ended.

By having Smart exit and Hardaway coming back in return along with a lottery pick, Simmons believes the Celtics can bolster their wing depth. It also helps that the 6-foot-5, 205-pound Hardaway shot 38.5% from 3-point range this past season, which was much better than the 33.6% Smart shot from beyond the arc.

“It solves the guard problem for the Celtics, right?” Simmons said. “Because now you’re moving out one of the guards and you’re replacing him with a swing. I felt like one of the things the Celtics struggled with last year was not having that guy to put in for Jaylen Brown or (Jayson) Tatum if one of those guys got in foul trouble or wasn’t playing a game or whatever. His 3-point shooting has always been pretty good.”

Simmons doesn’t see a loser in the fake trade, though, believing the Mavericks can benefit from Smart coming to Dallas with an even bigger chip on his shoulder.

“From a Dallas standpoint, I just think Smart as a change of scenery, I can’t believe they traded (the player), I wouldn’t underestimate that if I was a team looking at Marcus Smart trades,” Simmons said. “Him getting traded, he’s been in just a (expletive) of playoff games. I just think he would be really motivated. … If you’re going to bring back Kyrie (Irving), you have Kyrie and Luka (Doncic), you can’t really have another scorer. You need like a guy glue, I don’t care if I have the ball that much (player) and you got to win now with the team you have.”