Could the Boston Celtics shock the NBA and reunite with Marcus Smart before the Feb. 6 trade deadline?

Teams across the NBA are involved in “plenty of discussions” to trade for Smart, per a new report from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps.

Almost no one would assume that the Celtics are a suitor for Smart, whom they traded to Memphis in 2023.

Boston was able to replace Smart’s defensive contributions with a better overall player in Jrue Holiday, who was a big reason the Celtics won it all last season.

But things have been a little off in Boston this season, and Holiday hasn’t looked close to himself. As the Celtics look ahead to the future, they might not be thrilled about being tied to Holiday through his age 37 season (2027-28), at which point Holiday could opt in for a $37.2 million player option.

To be clear, Holiday — even in a diminished state — is still the superior player to Smart in 2025. 

If Celtics GM Brad Stevens was even remotely considering shipping Holiday off to Memphis, it would be because he’s receiving more than just Smart in return.

It also wouldn’t make sense for Stevens to trade Holiday in a deal that further constricts Boston’s cap space moving forward; on the contrary, a deal involving Holiday that creates near-future cap space might entice the Celtics.

Consider the following:

The Trade

Grizzlies receive…

Celtics receive…

• Marcus Smart
• Santi Aldama
• Jay Huff

The seven-foot, 24-year-old Aldama would fit perfectly in Boston’s system as a stretch-big. He’d also provide much-needed, immediate insurance for the Celtics against a Kristaps Porzingis injury or Al Horford fatigue. Huff is another valuable stretch-big who could provide the same things.

Then there’s the financial benefits of the trade for Boston. Aldama’s contract is expiring, and Smart’s contract expires after next season, far sooner than Holiday’s does. Huff’s contract is almost as cheap as they come at a total of $8 million over the next three seasons.

Should the Celtics trade Jrue Holiday right now? No, they should not.

But in a world where Stevens wasn’t planning on retaining Holiday for the rest of his contract, trading Jrue sooner rather than later would be the move to ensure a decent return.

Acquiring Aldama in the above deal might backfire financially if he’s going to demand significant money this offseason on the free agent market, thereby disabling the Celtics from retaining him or otherwise undoing the flexibility they would have gained by parting ways with Holiday.

For what it’s worth, bringing Smart back to Boston would cause the Celtics fan base to erupt with excitement, and he might also stoke the fire of a team that has looked bored and uninspired thus far. Smart, by the way, has been out since late December with a finger injury that has him at week-to-week status.

Holiday should stay put, but weirder things have happened in the NBA.

More NBA: Ranking Top 10 NBA Wings of all time: What’s wrong with this list?