Robb: Rondo Trade Opens Up Opportunity For Marcus Smart
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Rajon Rondo era in Boston may have officially come to a close Thursday night in Boston, but it's hard not to look back to last June and notice the 2014 NBA Draft was the beginning of the end for Rondo in a Celtics uniform.
It was then that Celtics president Danny Ainge selected a young guard out of Oklahoma State with the No. 6 overall pick. Marcus Smart played the same position as Rondo in college, and now he'll likely take over his spot in the Celtics starting lineup after the team dealt away Rondo and Dwight Powell for Brandan Wright, Jae Crowder, Jameer Nelson and a couple of future draft picks.
Ainge's decision to move Rondo now was done for several reasons. A realization was likely apparent that the second star the team hoped to pair up with Rondo wasn't available via trade. Instead of rolling the dice heading into the offseason that the team would be able to re-sign Rondo for reasonable money, the Celtics front office decided to go the safer route and eliminate the risk. Moving Rondo now guarantees Boston got something for their captain, but perhaps more importantly, it opens the door for the team to see what they have with Smart.
The 21-year-old rookie has been hampered with injuries during his first couple of months in the NBA, but the early returns on the court have been promising. In his first 10 games, Smart has one of the highest plus-minus ratings on the team, which means the team has fared better when he's on the court. Those ratings comes with a limited sample size, so in order for the Celtics to know whether Smart can handle more minutes at the position, they are best served to hand over the reins to him now.
Despite the team's strong performance while Smart is on the court early this year, his individual numbers leave much to be desired, especially on the offensive end. He's shooting 33 percent from the field, just 27 percent from downtown, while averaging 5.9 points per game. His defensive energy has been as advertised however, and as long as Smart makes strides on the offensive end as time progresses, the drop-off from Rondo may not be as sharp as fans would think.
As the Celtics progress to the next stage of their rebuild, it is crucial that the team figures out what they have in Smart. Can he handle running an offense? Will he be able to corral starting point guards instead of bench players? Is he a starting point guard or is he best served as being some defensive energy off the bench? Brad Stevens and his coaching staff will be able to make a better assessment in that department with Smart earning 25-30 minutes per game upon his return.
In the coming weeks, you will likely see both Evan Turner and Phil Pressey in the starting point guard role, especially as Smart works his way back from an Achilles injury. However, make no mistake: This trade was made to open up opportunity for Smart and others. The Celtics are taking the longer, younger rebuilding road now and they plan on investigating what they have at each position on this inexperienced roster.
Smart will get his shot now, a bit sooner than he probably anticipated. It's up to him to see what he makes of it.
Brian Robb covers the Celtics for CBS Boston and contributes to NBA.com, among other media outlets. You can follow him on Twitter @CelticsHub.
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