Could Marcus Smart and the Boston Celtics be headed for Splitsville?
Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald reported on Thursday that Smart is upset with the Celtics over their lack of communication this summer.
“He loves the Celtics, but with these crickets he’s hearing, he’s hurt and disgusted by it,” a source close to Smart’s camp was quoted as saying. “He would have thought there would be some kind of three- to four-year deal from them to show they’re interested. But the [one-year] qualifying offer is the only one he has received, and there’s been no talk since free agency opened. He’s most disappointed that there has been no reaching out from their end.
“He’s just hurt and frustrated that [general manager] Danny [Ainge] hasn’t reached out,” the source added. “That’s the most discouraging part of this whole thing. The last contact was a few days before free agency started.”
The 24-year-old Smart has only averaged 9.4 points per game on 36.0 percent shooting for his career. But his defense and hustle have been irreplaceable to the Celtics during his four-year career in Boston. As a restricted free agent, Smart has the ability to sign an offer sheet with any interested outside team. It is now five full days into free agency however, and that has yet to happen.
Smart’s offseason so far has obviously not gone how he would have hoped. As a player who always has a chip on his shoulder too, it makes sense that he wouldn’t respond well to the apparent radio silence from the Celtics’ end.
