Chicago Bulls: Pros and cons of signing Marcus Smart
By Ryan Heckman
The Chicago Bulls are reportedly in the mix for restricted free agent Marcus Smart. We dive into whether or not that would be a worthy signing.
Ah, and so the fun begins. The Chicago Bulls came away with two very solid picks in the 2018 NBA Draft, but now all of the focus turns to what they will do in free agency. Most fans don’t expect the Bulls to do much come July. But, there have been rumors that they are going to be bigger players than you might think.
While he isn’t an enormous name, Marcus Smart is a guy to look out for with the Bulls. The restricted free agent has said he sees himself back with the Boston Celtics next season, but according to Yahoo Sports insider Jordan Schultz, that might not be the end result:
Per NBA source, the #Mavericks are a contender for #Celtics’ RFA Marcus Smart, but it “depends on price.”
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) June 25, 2018
Other contenders, per source,
include the #Bulls, #Suns, #Pacers, #Mavericks and yes, Boston.
Smart, 24, averaged 10.2 points and a career-high 4.8 assists last season.
The 24-year-old guard is coming off a season which saw the Celtics challenge the Cleveland Cavaliers for Eastern Conference supremacy. He was a large part of why Boston was so successful, but for ways other than what the above tweet referenced — we’ll get to that later.
Smart is an intriguing free agent, all things considered. While he isn’t a pure point guard, he’s not a pure two guard either. He’s more of a combo guard with certain strengths you’d find in both positions. For the Bulls, he might actually fit well. But, he comes with some red flags. Would he be worth pursuing? Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of Chicago going after Smart this summer.