Smart putting in work with Horford/looks ripped in recent photo

[ETNCeltics]

Resigning Smart to a $12m/yr contract and paying IT only $25m/yr would be a tax next year of $35 million according to celticshub. $35 million tax for a roster that isn't championship caliber.

In other words, it won't matter if it's only $10 million/yr, unless something else significant on the current roster shakes out, resigning Marcus Smart is a pipe dream, just as re-signing Avery Bradley was.

[td450]

Its a great sign that Smart has focused on fitness and losing weight. He also seems to know he needs to simplify his shooting mechanics.

This is a different kind of year for Marcus. Until now, he was more or less cemented into a third guard role and got his 30 minutes. There was no one on the roster to take his minutes.

This year, he will be competing with a rapidly improving Jaylen Brown as well as Rozier, who has the tools to be a much better offensive player than Marcus, but just hasn't performed consistently yet.

Hayward will probably fill some minutes at shooting guard too.

Whether he is worth $10M or $20M depends on his competition with Brown and Rozier. If he has another year where he is a dismal shooter, he may very well find himself behind both these guys and he will be defined as a nice role player who lacks an NBA offense.

Rozier, and especially Brown are pretty likely to make major leaps forward in their games. Marcus can't just be a little better, and expect to keep all his minutes. However, if he meets the challenge, and outplays Brown and Rozier, he'll be in for a big payday, and ironically, we probably won't be able to keep him.

[PAOBoston]

Honestly, he really doesn't look that much different to me at least. Either way, it's basically a contract year for Smart. Needs to play his best to get paid. Fully expect him to get a huge offer from the Brooklyn Nets next summer.

[IDreamCeltics]

Has anyone ever once thought Smart's fitness was the problem?

It'd be better if he came back 30 lbs overweight but with a jumper than with a six pack and the same ol' trash offensive game.

[Surferdad]

Has anyone ever once thought Smart's fitness was the problem?

It'd be better if he came back 30 lbs overweight but with a jumper than with a six pack and the same ol' trash offensive game.

How about both?  Ever consider they may be related?

[Sketch5]

Has anyone ever once thought Smart's fitness was the problem?

It'd be better if he came back 30 lbs overweight but with a jumper than with a six pack and the same ol' trash offensive game.

Yes and then he would be gassed in 5 minutes and wont be able to even play D.

It looks like he's working on his quickness, which will help on D and offense. He can make quicker moves to the hoop, and either pull up for a floater which he was working on last season. Or he can take it all the way. His shot isn't broke, just not consistent. He also gets the ball a lot at the end of the shot clock with IT on the bench. Having Hayward, and Brown getting better, adding Tatumn, and Morris will help limit those shots.

I'm not saying his percentage will go up, just shouldn't have to take so many bad shots at the end of the clock. He also hits them when it's needed. So I'm not super worried about his out side shot, more with his ability to mix it up. And thats part of the weight issue.

[IDreamCeltics]

Has anyone ever once thought Smart's fitness was the problem?

It'd be better if he came back 30 lbs overweight but with a jumper than with a six pack and the same ol' trash offensive game.

How about both?  Ever consider they may be related?

Actually no, since Marcus Smart has been a bad shooter since highschool I considered that it's probably his poor jumper that's responsible for his woeful shooting.

Highschool 3 point average = .226
https://basketball.realgm.com/player/Marcus-Smart/Events/24275

College 3 point average = .295
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/marcus-smart-1.html

NBA career 3 point average = .291
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/smartma01.html

If Smart is actually focusing on quickness he's wasting his time.

Smart was bigger/stronger/faster than EVERYONE in highschool and college and was still a terrible shooter.  Now he's in the NBA where he has no hope of ever being physically dominant like that again.  He needs to be training in the Derrick Fischer/Jamal Tinsley/Paul Pierce/Chauncey Billups/Barron Davis school of basketball where you stop working on beach muscles emphasize actual basketball skills in the offseason first and foremost.
   

[loco_91]

Has anyone ever once thought Smart's fitness was the problem?

It'd be better if he came back 30 lbs overweight but with a jumper than with a six pack and the same ol' trash offensive game.

How about both?  Ever consider they may be related?

Actually no, since Marcus Smart has been a bad shooter since highschool I considered that it's probably his poor jumper that's responsible for his woeful shooting.

Highschool 3 point average = .226
https://basketball.realgm.com/player/Marcus-Smart/Events/24275

College 3 point average = .295
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/marcus-smart-1.html

NBA career 3 point average = .291
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/smartma01.html

If Smart is actually focusing on quickness he's wasting his time.

Smart was bigger/stronger/faster than EVERYONE in highschool and college and was still a terrible shooter.  Now he's in the NBA where he has no hope of ever being physically dominant like that again.  He needs to be training in the Derrick Fischer/Jamal Tinsley/Paul Pierce/Chauncey Billups/Barron Davis school of basketball where you stop working on beach muscles emphasize actual basketball skills in the offseason first and foremost.
 

What on earth makes you think Smart works on "beach muscles" instead of "actual basketball skills"? He has a 6 pack so he must not practice his shooting?

[manl_lui]

Has anyone ever once thought Smart's fitness was the problem?

It'd be better if he came back 30 lbs overweight but with a jumper than with a six pack and the same ol' trash offensive game.

How about both?  Ever consider they may be related?

Actually no, since Marcus Smart has been a bad shooter since highschool I considered that it's probably his poor jumper that's responsible for his woeful shooting.

Highschool 3 point average = .226
https://basketball.realgm.com/player/Marcus-Smart/Events/24275

College 3 point average = .295
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/marcus-smart-1.html

NBA career 3 point average = .291
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/smartma01.html

If Smart is actually focusing on quickness he's wasting his time.

Smart was bigger/stronger/faster than EVERYONE in highschool and college and was still a terrible shooter.  Now he's in the NBA where he has no hope of ever being physically dominant like that again.  He needs to be training in the Derrick Fischer/Jamal Tinsley/Paul Pierce/Chauncey Billups/Barron Davis school of basketball where you stop working on beach muscles emphasize actual basketball skills in the offseason first and foremost.
 

What on earth makes you think Smart works on "beach muscles" instead of "actual basketball skills"? He has a 6 pack so he must not practice his shooting?

yea i got confused there for a bit, in what way is Smart working on beach muscles? Beach muscles don't translate to him being able to defend the Paul Milsaps, or the bigger players. Smart is legit a very strong guy, otherwise Stevens wouldn't trust him from time to time to defend against bigger players.

[More Banners]

Has anyone ever once thought Smart's fitness was the problem?

It'd be better if he came back 30 lbs overweight but with a jumper than with a six pack and the same ol' trash offensive game.

How about both?  Ever consider they may be related?

Actually no, since Marcus Smart has been a bad shooter since highschool I considered that it's probably his poor jumper that's responsible for his woeful shooting.

Highschool 3 point average = .226
https://basketball.realgm.com/player/Marcus-Smart/Events/24275

College 3 point average = .295
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/marcus-smart-1.html

NBA career 3 point average = .291
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/smartma01.html

If Smart is actually focusing on quickness he's wasting his time.

Smart was bigger/stronger/faster than EVERYONE in highschool and college and was still a terrible shooter.  Now he's in the NBA where he has no hope of ever being physically dominant like that again.  He needs to be training in the Derrick Fischer/Jamal Tinsley/Paul Pierce/Chauncey Billups/Barron Davis school of basketball where you stop working on beach muscles emphasize actual basketball skills in the offseason first and foremost.
 

What on earth makes you think Smart works on "beach muscles" instead of "actual basketball skills"? He has a 6 pack so he must not practice his shooting?

yea i got confused there for a bit, in what way is Smart working on beach muscles? Beach muscles don't translate to him being able to defend the Paul Milsaps, or the bigger players. Smart is legit a very strong guy, otherwise Stevens wouldn't trust him from time to time to defend against bigger players.

Perhaps referring to the thread title, describing him as looking ripped.

I'll take the gamer over the athlete in a forced choice scenario. He is both, but the skills need polish.

[Rhyso]

Resigning Smart to a $12m/yr contract and paying IT only $25m/yr would be a tax next year of $35 million according to celticshub. $35 million tax for a roster that isn't championship caliber.

In other words, it won't matter if it's only $10 million/yr, unless something else significant on the current roster shakes out, resigning Marcus Smart is a pipe dream, just as re-signing Avery Bradley was.

I disagree. If you are that concerned about tax (and think Smart is worth what the market sets), then dropping Crowder and/or Morris would be a start. No way Danny traded Bradley and plans to let go our only defensive backcourt player left, in a league which is dominated by scoring point guards btw. Basically saying that we won't keep him because of tax reasons makes no sense to me, because if you think he's good and plays a position of need, you keep those players and sort the rest out.

Also if our roster isn't championship caliber with IT, Horford, and Hayward as our best three (which it probably isn't), and paying luxury tax is not an option, then I really have to question what they are actually trying to do then if not bring through a young core of Smart, Brown and Tatum.   

[YoungOne87]

I just realised, after trading bradley, smart is our longest tenured player on our roster.
[dang] these rosters changing fast.

Hopefully he signs an extension this offseason for "cheap" like 40 mil./4 years and if he is not part of our future we can still trade him next summer.

[RockinRyA]

Has anyone ever once thought Smart's fitness was the problem?

It'd be better if he came back 30 lbs overweight but with a jumper than with a six pack and the same ol' trash offensive game.

How about both?  Ever consider they may be related?

Actually no, since Marcus Smart has been a bad shooter since highschool I considered that it's probably his poor jumper that's responsible for his woeful shooting.

Highschool 3 point average = .226
https://basketball.realgm.com/player/Marcus-Smart/Events/24275

College 3 point average = .295
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/marcus-smart-1.html

NBA career 3 point average = .291
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/smartma01.html

If Smart is actually focusing on quickness he's wasting his time.

Smart was bigger/stronger/faster than EVERYONE in highschool and college and was still a terrible shooter.  Now he's in the NBA where he has no hope of ever being physically dominant like that again.  He needs to be training in the Derrick Fischer/Jamal Tinsley/Paul Pierce/Chauncey Billups/Barron Davis school of basketball where you stop working on beach muscles emphasize actual basketball skills in the offseason first and foremost.
 

Lots of assumptions on this post.

Do you actually know what's Smart workout schedule? Should you forego Fitness if you want to shoot better? He will be tasked with defending a lot of quicker guards this year, being fit will help a lot in that regard.

[loco_91]

Its a great sign that Smart has focused on fitness and losing weight. He also seems to know he needs to simplify his shooting mechanics.

This is a different kind of year for Marcus. Until now, he was more or less cemented into a third guard role and got his 30 minutes. There was no one on the roster to take his minutes.

This year, he will be competing with a rapidly improving Jaylen Brown as well as Rozier, who has the tools to be a much better offensive player than Marcus, but just hasn't performed consistently yet.

Hayward will probably fill some minutes at shooting guard too.

Whether he is worth $10M or $20M depends on his competition with Brown and Rozier. If he has another year where he is a dismal shooter, he may very well find himself behind both these guys and he will be defined as a nice role player who lacks an NBA offense.

Rozier, and especially Brown are pretty likely to make major leaps forward in their games. Marcus can't just be a little better, and expect to keep all his minutes. However, if he meets the challenge, and outplays Brown and Rozier, he'll be in for a big payday, and ironically, we probably won't be able to keep him.

I think it's really unlikely that Smart sees a dip in his minutes. Rozier was just bad last year, and he's no younger than Smart. Brown, as we saw in SL, is not ready to play a big role at the NBA level. Smart has been getting solid rotation minutes since his rookie year; not once has he fallen out of Stevens's rotation. And last year was clearly his best on the offensive end, as his ability to run PG improved significantly.

Rozier and Brown, not Smart, are the ones who need to worry about their minutes.

[bellerephon]

I don't think Brown's summer league is relevant at all. He played a real role last year in the NBA, getting 17 mpg and saw time at the end of close games. He started 20 games last year, played almost 25 mpg, averaged 10 ppg as a starter, shot amost 46% from the floor and over 40% from three.  That doesn't automatically mean he would thrive as a starter next year, but it certainly is far more indicative of what we can hope for than a few summer league games. It's not crazy to consider him for a starting role considering how he played as a starter last year.