Marcus Smart returns, Kawhi Leonard arrives at the East Conference and Gordon Hayward introduces himself

There have been many great days in the history of the Celtics: the day they won their first title. The day they won their 17th title. The day they got the 76ers to draft Markelle Fultz. The day a brave fan first screamed at Ben Simmons to shoot a loose 3.

June 18, 2018 might not be at the same level as any of these, but damn it, it was good. I really only needed to see two things happen during the off season: for the C's, keep the free agent restricted Marcus Smart and for Kawhi Leonard to end up anywhere for Philadelphia.

Check and verify. What a day.

Actually, I suppose that stars that are doing well would be a big problem for the Celtics as well.

If Brad Stevens' information was accurate, Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward will play basketball 5 to 5 without any limitation in about 2-3 weeks.

– Marc D 'Amico (@Marc_DAmico) July 18, 2018

What a day.

Let's focus on the Kawhi thing. If he had gone to the 76ers and made friends with some of those hairballs – enough for him to sign – the Celtics would be in trouble. Kyrie Irving could theoretically leave for free agency next summer, and a big three of Kawhi, Simmons and Embiid would probably win on a long list of Celtics Kyrie-less.

But that will not happen. Kawhi is in Toronto, maybe a year before going to the Lakers. In the immediate future, the Raptors are not a threat to the Celtics, or maybe even the 76ers. In the long run, there is a good chance that he will not even be at the East Conference.

Thus, the Celtics' run to the NBA finals remains clear. As long as everyone – or almost everyone – is in good health, they will do it easily.

Much of this will be due to the fact that they are the deepest team in the conference, a status that should remain with Marcus Smart concluding a four-year contract with the Celtics for 52 million of dollars. (He officially signed on June 19, yes, but both sides came closer to the finish line on June 18.)

If Smart had just come back on his $ 6.1 million qualifying bid it would not be the end of the world. and then walked into the free agency next summer, but paying more to have it around for what could be championship racing would have always been the best option.

Yes, the Celtics are negotiating against themselves because Smart is a FRG and has not received an offer sheet, but if after Dante Exum signed for three years at $ 11 million, would not that have something similar?

So Smart was four years old and $ 52 million. That's $ 2 million more per year to have it for four years. More importantly, it's not the $ 16 million that the team could have given him for the Celtics to pay too much or go out. Smart is not one of the top five Celtics players, but he is one of the best defenders in the league. The Celtics apparently do not have to pay through the nose to get it for another four years, so they would be smart to wrap something up for the figures that have been reported.

In addition, a photo of Jayson Tatum showing Stephen A. Smith on a photo of Denzel Washington. What a day.

JAYSON TATUM CUTTING STEPHEN OUT #GOAT https://t.co/X3GwsjS5W1

– Pat Bradley (@PatBradley_) July 19, 2018