BOSTON -- As expected, the Boston Celtics picked up the option years on two of their brightest up-and-coming players, Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart.
Both Rozier and Smart are now under contract with the Celtics through the 2017-2018 season and will make $1.988 million and $4.538 million, respectively.
It is unclear if the Celtics will pick up the fourth-year option on James Young.
CSNNE.com spoke with Young shortly after Monday’s practice. He said he had not been told one way or another if the Celtics were going to pick up his extension.
Multiple league sources told CSNNE.com prior that the Celtics were unlikely to pick up the fourth year on Young, which would have paid him $2.8 million next season.
If Boston opts to not pick up Young’s option, that means the 21-year-old Young, the 17th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft, will be a restricted free agent this summer.
Young edged out R.J. Hunter, another first-round pick of the Celtics, for the 15th and final roster spot at the end of training camp. Hunter has since signed with the Chicago Bulls.
Locking up Rozier and Smart for another year didn’t become official until today, but the Celtics were planning to do this for quite a while.
Based on Rozier and Smart’s play in respect to the increased salary cap space teams now have following the new national TV deal, their contributions make each a player whose value extends far beyond the weight of their contracts.
I asked Rozier a week ago about his third-year option being picked up by the Celtics. At the time, he said he had heard nothing about it and not surprisingly, he didn’t seem the least bit worried.
“I let my agent and the Celtics handle that kind of stuff,” Rozier told CSNNE.com. “All I can do is play the best I can, and whatever happens after that, happens. Anything can happen in this league, but I’m a Celtic. And I don’t see that changing anytime soon.”
Rozier has been among the first players off the Celtics bench this season, a significantly different role than the one he had last season as a rookie.
In three games this season, Rozier has averaged 6.0 points, 3.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds while averaging 24.0 minutes per game. He is shooting 43.8 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from 3-point range.
Smart has yet to play in a game this season due to a left ankle sprain he suffered in Boston’s last preseason game on October 19. CSNNE.com reported that Smart would be out for a couple of weeks, putting his return at the earliest, sometime this week.
On Monday Smart said he will return to the lineup for Wednesday’s game against the Chicago Bulls.