The Celtics Have Picked Up The Options On Marcus Smart And Terry Rozier
Some big but pretty predictable news out of Waltham today. With the deadline approaching, the Celtics announce they have picked up the option for both Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier. About as no brainer as it comes. Smart’s $4.5M salary for next year is guaranteed, and he has a qualifying offer of $6M in 2018-19. All things considered with where salaries are in the NBA, this is pretty good value. For Rozier, this guaranteed his $1.98M for next year, and has one after that remaining at $3M. Both players are expected to play big roles moving forward, so I’m sure the sense of security helps.
Perhaps there are a group of people that are tired of Smart, don’t think his shot will ever come around, and the Celtics should just move on. I’m glad this isn’t the case, and I’m even happier Danny realizes it too. For what Marcus gives you, to have to pay just $6M for it is a no brainer, and that’s not even factoring in the upside.
However it’s not all rainbows and lollipops, as word still has to come down about the extensions for Olynyk and James Young. When you look at some of the players in Olynyk’s class (Oladipo, Noel, McCollum, Adams) that are big money extensions, I’m not convinced Danny has any interest in that.
The good news is, with Isaiah’s deal on the horizon, if for whatever reason that doesn’t work out, you have your insurance locked up.