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Chicago Bulls should make an offer to Celtics for Marcus Smart

By Dan Schmelzer

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 04: Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Celtics handles the ball against the Washington Wizards in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at Verizon Center on May 4, 2017 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 04: Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Celtics handles the ball against the Washington Wizards in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at Verizon Center on May 4, 2017 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) /
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The Chicago Bulls should look to buy low in a trade for Marcus Smart of the Boston Celtics.

The Chicago Bulls are at a point in their rebuild where they need to acquire as many young assets as possible. For now, they cannot worry about how they all fit together. Simply finding long-term talent to add to the mix is far and away the most important thing. Sometimes, you have to get a little creative to make these acquisitions happen.

After landing Gordon Hayward in free agency, the Boston Celtics have to get a little creative in order to fit Hayward’s max contract on their roster. Simply parting ways with a small-time player like Terry Rozier (another young talent who the Bulls should check in on) will not do. The Celtics have to get rid of a core player who is making a bit of money in order to create enough room.

According to Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowki of ESPN, the Celtics are “discussing trades involving Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder and Avery Bradley.”

"“The Celtics have to make a complicated series of moves to create enough to sign Hayward to the full max. But because the salary cap did not rise as much as projected, they will likely have to trade one or more of those three players to sign Hayward. Sources told ESPN that Boston has discussed trade concepts involving those players with at least half a dozen teams on Wednesday.”"

Have to make room

Basically, the Celtics now have to dump an important player in order to make room for Hayward. All three of Smart, Crowder and Bradley are important to the Celtics’ short-term success, with Crowder probably being the most valuable because of his long-term, low-money contract.

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Bradley is probably the most important player for the Celtics for the 2017/18 season, so I doubt that they will really want to move. However, Bradley does becomes an unrestricted free agent after next season.

That brings us to Smart, who would be a strong fit for the Bulls. Smart is a 23-year-old point guard who has impressive defensive skills. He can legitimately defend the one, two and three positions on the court and has some offensive playmaking in his game as well. Smart is not much of an outside shooter, but he can certainly make plays with the ball in his hands.

Why would Boston dump Smart?

It would be tough for the Celtics to give up on the former sixth-overall selection, but Smart is scheduled to hit restricted free agency after next season. Sure, he is an important part of their current team, but both Bradley and Crowder probably bring more short-term value. On top of that, Boston will probably not be able to bring him back after next season anyway.

If Boston wants solid draft pick value in exchange for Smart, I do not know if the Bulls are a good fit. They are not going to trade any of their upcoming first round picks and do not even own their second-round picks in 2018 and 2019. However, if this is purely going to be a salary dump, the Chicago Bulls should be all ears.

They have the trade exceptions and cap space to easily absorb Smart’s contract and would be able to work with him for a year before having to make any sort of long-term decision.

Strong on-court fit

Smart would also be a strong fit in the Bulls’ backcourt. Right now, they have two young players who could be capable of starting for the team in the long-term in Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine. Dunn is a defense-first point guard whose overall game is similar to Smart. LaVine is a fantastic offensive player but his defense leaves plenty to be desired.

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Trading for Smart would allow the Bulls to have him or Dunn on the court at all times, helping make up for LaVine’s lack of ability on the defensive end. With Smart’s ability to play off of the ball, Dunn and Smart could theoretically play with each other. If nothing else, that would be an incredibly dominant defensive guard duo.

As I mentioned before, the Chicago Bulls need to do anything they can to acquire low-cost young talent. If the Celtics get desperate and move Smart for an incredibly cheap price, they need to be in the conversation.

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