Report: Celtics shopping Smart, Crowder, Bradley

The Boston Celtics are aggressively trying to shed salary to accommodate their latest star import, Gordon Hayward.

As they look to create cap room, the Celtics are shopping Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder, and Avery Bradley, sources told Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Boston needs to move at least one of the aforementioned players in order to pay Hayward a maximum salary. Crowder appears most likely to get dumped since Hayward's addition made him redundant.

Losing any of those three rotation pieces, however, would be a tough blow for a team trying to contend for the East crown.

Bradley was one of Boston's best players in the playoffs, and his sublime defensive abilities helped mask the deficiencies of backcourt partner Isaiah Thomas. He also ranked as their second-leading scorer last season.

Smart is a dogged defender who was a pivotal piece in many of the Celtics' best lineups. Though he's an extremely erratic jump shooter, Smart is a high-level team player that consistently comes up with key stops. He's also a fan favorite.

Finally, Crowder - though apparently a bit disgruntled - has played an important role too. He averaged 13.9 points and 5.8 rebounds last season while hitting 39.8 percent from deep. He's also locked into a cheap deal worth less than $8 million per year for the next two seasons.