Marcus Smart has made it clear that he entered the offseason feeling optimistic about the possibility of a long-term deal with the Boston Celtics, and the result has been a seemingly strained relationship between the point guard and the team.
Smart, a restricted free agent, is said to be “hurt and disgusted” by the lack of communication from Celtics president Danny Ainge this summer. When asked on Monday where things stand between him and the team, Smart seemed frustrated.
“That’s what I want to know. I have no clue,” he told Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. “I can only control what I can control.”
The Celtics can match any offer sheet Smart signs with another team, and sources tell Himmelsbach they plan to do just that. However, very few teams have enough salary cap space to blow Smart away with an offer, so perhaps that is why Boston is content to let things play out.
Smart was also asked if he is optimistic he will eventually receive a substantial offer, and he didn’t exactly sound confident.
“I don’t know,” the scrappy point guard said.
If Smart does’t receive an offer he thinks is fair, he can sign the one-year, $6 million qualifying offer the Celtics have extended him and become an unrestricted free agent next summer. That may be his best option, though at least one team is reportedly preparing to make a run at signing him.
