Celtics extend qualifying offers to Marcus Smart and Jabari Bird

The Celtics took care of a bit of housekeeping on Thursday by extending qualifying offers to Marcus Smart and Jabari Bird ahead of the June 30th deadline, according to the RealGM transaction log. The move makes both guards restricted free agents when free agency opens up on July 1st, which gives the Celtics the ability to match any offer sheet they sign with another team.

Smart's qualifying offer is worth $6.05 million for 2018-19, which means he can sign a one-year contract for Boston at any time during free agency for that amount. That scenario is a possibility if the Celtics and Smart's agent can't agree to a longer deal and Smart does not get any appealing offers from other teams. Smart would become an unrestricted free agent at the end of his deal in 2019 if he signs a qualifying offer and he would also have a no-trade clause for the upcoming season.

Bird's qualifying offer is only worth $77,250, which is the value of a two-way contract. Bird is expected to be in contention for a 15-man roster spot this season. As expected, late-season injury replacement Jonathan Gibson was not extended a qualifying offer, so he will be an unrestricted free agent.

BSJ Analysis: Smart's restricted free agency should be one of the more intriguing subplots of the offseason for Boston. We've covered the realities of a tight free agent market that awaits him at Bostonsportsjournal.com over the past couple weeks and things have not improved on that front during this past week as more players opted into their deals, eating up more available cap space.

Several players have played on qualifying offers in recent seasons (Nerlens Noel, Alex Len, Greg Monroe) and that trend should become more common this summer since more teams are expected to have significant salary cap space next summer.

Barring a surprise development, Smart's free agency should drag out for several weeks as he tests the market and weighs his options. There is no deadline for signing a qualifying offer until the fall, so Smart can take his time with the decision.

For more on Smart's market and free agency options, check out these pieces:

Why Marcus Smart's free agent market looks weaker after draft night

Which teams are legitimate threats to sign Marcus Smart away from the Celtics?