The Celtics made it to the Eastern Conference finals, took LeBron James seven games and set themselves up for a bright future around a solid mix of stars and youth. Health -- particularly that of Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward -- was the one issue holding them back from more.
Marcus Smart was around for the Eastern Conference finals, but the defensive-minded guard missed 28 games in the regular season and four in the postseason. His two major injuries were when he hit his hand on a picture frame in January and when he sprained his thumb in March, which required surgery.
Despite the injuries, he stepped up for Boston with his usual brand of intensity and hard nose basketball. It's endeared him to fans, but now comes the hard part for the Celtics. Smart is a restricted free agent this summer and he wants to get his money.
"To be honest, I'm worth more than $12-14 million," Smart told ESPN. "Just for the things I do on the court that don't show up on the stat sheet. You don't find guys like that. I always leave everything on the court, every game. Tell me how many other players can say that."
Smart is right that he's one of those players that does things not showing up on the traditional stat sheet. He's a great defender for a point guard, and his strength doesn't allow him to be mismatched on switches. Despite being a poor shooter, the Celtics were a better team on offense and defense when he was on the floor this season. They had a net rating of 6.5 when he was on the floor as opposed to a net rating of 1.6 when he was off it. He's proven his value.
However, none of this means the Celtics are going to pay him what he wants. Restricted free agency has become a gamble for free agents with many teams choosing to let the market decide a player's salary and then deciding if they'll match it later. If nobody chooses to give Smart what he's asking, and he waits too long, then he could find himself without a contract towards the end of July and have to settle on a smaller deal. There's obvious value in what Smart can do, but does the rest of the NBA value him the same way?
