Would trading Marcus Smart and Time Lord for Clint Capela make sense?

Would it make sense dealing Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III for the Atlanta Hawks’ Clint Capela?

The Boston Celtics might be bored, but they aren’t bored enough to trade veteran guard Marcus Smart away for a pittance.

Bleacher Report has been helping us all stay engaged with our favorite sport by running a fantasy basketball league where their staff take on the role of various front offices, simulating the 2020-21 NBA season to come.

And much has been truly thoughtful, even Danny Ainge-worthy moves executed by the various franchises being mocked.

But, if one big move actually went down, it’d have been through someone putting the Trader Danny clamps on Ainge himself, because the deal would almost certainly never happen in the real world.

The imaginary trade in question would have seen Boston send out not only Smart but also big man Rob Williams for now-Atlanta Hawk center Clint Capela.

If, as many analysts assumed at the start of the 2019-20 season, there was a clear need at the five for the Celtics, the deal would possibly make sense.

With that in mind, let’s look at the big-for-big component of this deal to start.

Neither Capela nor Williams are especially great at defending the perimeter or switching onto smaller, faster players. Both have shown issues with conditioning and health, but Williams is at least younger and a much cheaper bargain at just $2 million next season and $3.6 the next.

The Celtics, as cap enthusiasts are aware, are about to get very expensive with Jayson Tatum extension-eligible this offseason — particularly if veteran forward Gordon Hayward opts into the final year of his current deal.

Next season is Boston’s most likely shot at a championship until the older players on the roster finish their deals or are otherwise out of the picture, and center Daniel Theis has proven a very capable starter for the Celtics, on the books next season for another bargain at $5 million.

Now, let’s look at Smart.

A legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate who can defend both fast, quick players and big, lumbering centers, he has also proven a crucial part of the team’s adaptability and has been a driver of the chemistry behind 2019-20’s success.

Would the team really be any better off just dealing the Texan for Capela?

While the former Houston Rocket was by all measures a starter-worthy big, he’s proven nearly unplayable against some teams in the postseason, does 120% of what Williams offers at roughly ten times the price, and doesn’t really move the needle whatsoever on raising ceilings.

With all that said, this deal is D.O.A. with The Celtics Wire — though we appreciate the thought experiment to ruminate on just the same.

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