Marcus Smart – Boston Celtics
Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Chris Duarte present a lot of potential offensively for the Pacers moving forward, but this team still has problems on the defensive-end of the floor to fix.
The Pacers rank 26th in the league in defensive rating, which is unlike a Rick Carlisle coached team, and other than Myles Turner, they have no real threats on the defensive-end of the floor.
The Boston Celtics are one of the teams around the league that will be looking for a point guard in the offseason and should they show a level of interest in trading for Malcolm Brogdon, Marcus Smart will certainly be available in trade discussion.
Now in his 8th NBA season, Marcus Smart is a two-time All-Defensive talent and he will likely be named to the All-Defensive First Team once again. Smart is as good of a defender as anyone in the league and has been highly regarded by several league executives around the league as the best defensive guard in the NBA.
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Pairing him with Tyrese Haliburton in the backcourt could work wonders for the Pacers moving forward, especially since Marcus Smart primarily plays off-the-ball offensively.
The Pacers can not only add Marcus Smart, but future value in a trade involving Malcolm Brogdon with the Celtics this offseason and they could potentially get their hands on newly acquired Derrick White as well, that is if the Celtics do not want to trade Marcus Smart.
The Celtics are a team that has shown interest in Malcolm Brogdon in the past and should the Pacers look to trade him in the offseason, this interest could very much reappear.
