The Boston Celtics have a $6.1 million qualifying offer on the table for point guard Marcus Smart. Pen has not been set to paper just yet, but it sounds like the former No. 6 overall pick is leaning towards signing the offer to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019.

Several teams around the NBA landscape are interested in Smart's services, according to most reports. However, his restricted free agent status is causing a bit of reluctance among opposing GM's, and the Celtics could potentially match any offer sheet that is presented.

“From the Celtics’ perspective, they have maintained throughout this process that they want to have Smart back next season, but they want to do it relative to what his market value is,” Sherrod Blakely reports in his recent article for nbcsports.com.

“And right now, because he has yet to receive an offer sheet from another team, the Celtics are waiting for that shoe to drop and then proceed,” Blakely adds. “The other issue for the Celtics is the luxury tax, something they would be extremely close to exceeding depending on how much they pay Smart.”

Just for the record: If Smart accepts a qualifying offer, he'll have a no-trade clause in his contract this season.

Without a doubt, Smart played an important role for the Celtics last season, especially on the defensive end of the floor. In his 54 regular season appearances (11 starts), the 24-year-old ball-handler racked up averages of 10.2 points on 36.7 percent shooting from the field (30.1 percent from beyond the arc), 4.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.3 steals in 29.9 minutes per game.

According to Adam Himmelsbach of bostonglobe.com, Smart and his camp feel a bit put off by the Celtics’ lack of communication during free agency. In fact, one source tells Himmelsbach that Smart is “over it” and prepared to sign a one-year qualifying offer to become an unrestricted free agent next season — if it comes to that.

Despite the situation, sources say the Celtics view Smart as an integral part of the team.

“Everybody in here wants Marcus Smart back at the end of the day,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said in a June interview with the Globe. “Danny would echo the same sentiments. He’s a winning basketball player and he has a contagious effect with how he plays. The one part of the front office work I don’t have a sense of or get into is the numbers, but everybody wants him back.”

Whether or not Smart will be with the Celtics next season remains to be seen, but it certainly seems like a possibility. Be sure to keep your browsers locked on ClutchPoints for updates on this topic as they become available.