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The Boston Celtics saw the deadline come and go on Monday afternoon after not being able to work out a new long-term extension with fourth-year guard Marcus Smart.
It was a negotiation process that the 23-year-old revealed on Tuesday morning that he was willing to bend a little more to get a deal worked out with Celtics but all that came to no avail, according to Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe.
Smart on failed extension: “We even gave them options where they wouldn’t have to be so deep in the luxury tax & they still wouldn’t budge.”
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) October 17, 2017
Although a new extension was not agreed upon, there is a clear desire between both sides to get something worked out down the road next summer. At the moment, it may appear to be a little more so on behalf of Smart but keep in mind the Celtics have the unique benefit of holding a $6 million qualifying offer that would make him a restricted free agent and allow them to match any offer sheet he is presented with by another team.
This will also give them a chance to fully assess how much they value Smart's presence on the team while being able to not overspend on him. That said, he has developed into a dependable player over his first three seasons in the league with his play on both ends of the floor.
Smart has shown to be an above-average individual defender that has also become a reliable offensive contributor that is coming off his most productive campaign where he averaged a career-high 10.6 points along with 1.6 steals per game. All of this will make for the upcoming season holding a tremendous amount of importance in how his situation in Boston will play out next offseason.
