Players like Tyreke Evans, Dwight Howard, Jabari Parker and Zach LaVine have gone on to ink some crucial deals since then. They weren’t however, the hottest property on the market back then, with the likes of Clint Capela and Marcus Smart still in the restricted free agency class. Both of them are proven playoff performers but are yet to sign confirmed deals thus far.

The Celtics, though, seem to have made much more progress with their 2014 draft pick than the Rockets have. Read on to find out the full details:

#1 Marcus Smart nears a long-term contract agreement with the Celtics

The Celtics and restricted free agent Marcus Smart have re-engaged in contract talks. According to a league source, the belief is the discussions are now “going in the right direction.” The Celtics have made their latest offer to Smart, the source said, and as of Wednesday morning the guard and his camp were giving it a good look.

ESPN reported Wednesday that the two sides are in discussions about a four-year contract in the $46 million-$50 million range. A Boston Globe source said the hope is that a multiyear contract will be finalized between the sides within a week, but cautioned that contract talks can be fickle, as one party may believe a deal is near while the other does not.

If the Celtics sign Smart to a multiyear deal, they would almost certainly enter the luxury tax in the coming season, costing them more this year and also starting the clock on the even costlier repeater tax that goes into effect when a team is above the tax line for three out of four years. While Boston’s ownership’s obvious preference is to limit costs, it has also publicly stated that it is fully prepared to pay the tax to build a title contender.

#2 Nemanja Bjelica in talks with Kings after backing out of Sixers deal

Nemanja Bjelica had found a comfort level in Minnesota, but when Tom Thibodeau pulled his qualifying offer to sign Anthony Tolliver, it left the Serbian forward without a deal. Philadelphia raced in with a one-year, $4.4 million offer, and he took it.

Then on Tuesday, he backed out, saying he wanted to return to Europe with his family. What he said he wanted was stability, he told Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, although it remained unclear how sacrificing the opportunity to make millions of dollars more in USA contributed more to his long-term stability than a 2-3 year deal in Europe:

“It’s not about coach or the Philly organization,” Bjelica told The Athletic in a phone conversation on Tuesday. “Brett Brown, he’s a great guy and a great coach. The most important thing for me is family and some kind of stability…”

“I’m thankful for Philly for the opportunity, but I will always do what is the best for my family,” Bjelica said. “At that point, I was considering European life.”

But right now, amid reports that he is in talks with the Kings for a long-term deal, fresh questions have risen as to how legitimate his actions were. Bjelica is theoretically a good fit with the Kings given his ability to space the floor, but they have a crowded frontcourt with Harry Giles, Willey-Cauley Stein, Marvin Bagley and Zach Randolph among others. Unless they are offering Bjelica a multi-year deal, the Serbian’s decision to back out of a deal with Philly will look pretty bad.

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