Isaiah Thomas

Isaiah Thomas said the Boston Celtics will miss Evan Turner, but Marcus Smart is "ready" to step up.

(Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP Photo)

The Boston Celtics utilized wing Evan Turner in ways that other NBA teams hadn't really done before, helping turn the 6-foot-7 former No. 2 pick into a very rich man this offseason, after he signed a four-year $70 million deal with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Boston was never going to be able to match a deal like the one the Blazers threw at Turner, but analysts have noted how much the Celtics will miss Turner's versatility on both ends, particularly on offense where he operated as an important secondary ball-handler.

Turner's impact hasn't been missed by Boston's likely primary ball-handler Isaiah Thomas either. Thomas benefitted frequently from Turner's ability to bring the ball up the floor, allowing Thomas to play off the ball and focus on scoring when Boston's offense needed a jolt.

However, in an interview with Bleacher Report's Dan Favale, Thomas said another player might be ready to fill in for the loss of Turner: Third-year guard Marcus Smart.

Here's Thomas:

We're going to miss Evan. He's a guy who can not only make a play for himself, but a play for his teammates. When we played together, I played off the ball and let him make plays. We're definitely going to miss that, but [his exit] is an opportunity someone else can take advantage of. I know Marcus Smart is going to be ready and is working hard.

Like every Celtics fan who watched Summer League, Thomas is also high on Terry Rozier.

Another guy, my guy, Terry Rozier, is going to surprise people. I think he's ready to make an impact. And then there's Jaylen Brown. He's going to be as ready as he has to be, and he's going to help us wherever he can fit in. I'm excited at the opportunity to be competing with these guys. I'm excited to see who's gotten better and what guys have worked on.

The loss of Turner will affect Thomas perhaps the most of any player on the roster -- last season, Thomas and Turner were the only players who could reliably create a shot for themselves off the dribble. That, perhaps more than anything else, is what Thomas is likely referring to -- the way in which Turner could create for himself or others if the offense broke down in a half-court set.

Whether Smart or Rozier is ready to fill that role remains to be seen. Smart, entering his third year, has shown flashes as a distributor and is a fantastic guard defender, but to be more effective, he'll need to knock down a higher percentage of his shots, particularly from 3-point range. He'll need to gain the respect of defenders as a scorer to open up the rest of his offensive game, but if he can, he'll be much more effective.

Rozier is a wildcard this season. After playing a very minor role for the team off the bench during its playoff run, he'll have an opportunity to play more like he did during Summer League -- attacking hard off the dribble, looking to score around the rim and collapse the defense into the paint. Rozier was the primary attacker for the Celtics' Summer League team, which admittedly is a small sample size against mediocre competition, but it bodes well for his development to see his attacking mentality. Rozier has a burst to his game that Smart doesn't, which could potentially allow him to carve out a role as the secondary ball-handler alongside or behind Thomas.

Either way, Thomas -- like most of the Celtics' fanbase -- is excited about Boston's youth movement. Some fresh faces will need to make an impact, but if they prove capable, the Celtics will be even more intriguing this season.