The Boston Celtics are working on trades that will give them enough cap space to complete the Gordon Hayward signing, and have made Jae Crowder, Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart all available for trade.
The Utah Jazz are open to a sign-and-trade that would send Crowder to Salt Lake City, but the Celtics are exploring another deal that would send Marcus Smart to the New York Knicks, according to ESPN's Ian Begley.
Boston reached out to people with NYK about Marcus Smart, per sources. The Knicks' level of interest in Smart at the moment is unclear. https://t.co/QT0CrXVOBh
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) July 5, 2017
New York has expressed a lot of interest in bringing in a veteran point guard this offseason, but were unable to land George Hill and aren't currently seriously pursuing Derrick Rose. They have since turned their attention to Shelvin Mack.
The Knicks selected French point guard Frank Ntilikina with the No. 8 pick in the draft, and are looking for a bridge starter who can hold down the starting job until Ntilikina is ready to assume the role.
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Smart isn't an experienced veteran like Hill or Mack, but he has been in the league for three years and has been an excellent bench player for the Celtics, particularly as a tough defender. Plus, he can play either guard position.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder averaged 10.6 points, 4.6 assists and 3.9 rebounds in a career-high 30.4 minutes per game last season.
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