Boston Celtics president Danny Ainge was faced with an interesting scenario, asked which guard he'd rather keep on the roster heading into next season between a feisty Marcus Smart or the evolving Terry Rozier.
Being the diplomat he is, Ainge went for a third option.
“Keep 'em both!,” he said during an interview with 98.5 The Sports Huv, via Adam Kaufman of WBZ 1030 Radio.
How would he make that happen?
“Very good question,” said Ainge. “I like both those guys. They're both so different and bring different things to the table.”
The Celtics received plenty of offers for Marcus Smart the weeks prior to the trade deadline, but the team shot down every single one of them, even after having sustained a self-inflicted injury, forced to miss two weeks to recover.
This offseason, the C's will get plenty of calls about Rozier as well, having shown an offensive spurt that could make him into a starting-caliber point guard for teams looking to bank on a promising young talent.
Both homegrown products, Ainge will have to act astutely and manage his roster well if he hopes to keep them for seasons to come. Smart is coming into his last year of a four-year, $14 million rookie deal and could make $6 million next season before becoming a restricted free agent.
Rozier already had his 2018 team-option picked up, slated to make $3 million in 2018-19 before heading for restricted free agency status the season after.
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