Celtics have tendered a qualifying offer to Marcus Smart
The Boston Celtics, as expected have tendered a qualifying offer to Marcus Smart, making him a restricted free agent. NBA free agency begins at 12:01 AM on Sunday, July 1st, 2018.
The offer is for $6,053,719 for the 2018-19 season. Other teams can make offers to Smart, and Boston can match any offers that are tendered.
If Marcus accepts the Celtics' qualifying offer (not expected) on a one-year deal, he can not be traded without his consent. Smart will almost certainly not accept the QO and will await interest from other teams.
The qualifying offer for Marcus Smart is $6,053,719. If he signs the QO, this is the amount he would play for Boston for in 2018-19. He would also have a no-trade clause, as he playing under a one-year contract that has Bird Rights at the end.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) June 29, 2018
Marcus' value is most-certainly above that 6 million level, and most analysts feel he is worth something in the 10-14 million range, but a higher offer is certainly possible. Some NBA teams like to be the first to contact free-agent prospects, so the phones will be ringing soon after midnight on the eve of free agency.
Danny Ainge should hope that rival teams view Smart's value as largely the result of the Brad Factor, meaning Brad brings out the most and the best of players under him. And further, that their level of play will be lessened on another team. The only surety is that Marcus has very high value for the Celtics, and we can hope that an agreement amenable to both sides can be worked out.
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