Is the Boston Celtics’ next star already on the roster?

5:15 PM ET

While Boston Celtics fans obsess over trade speculation with hopes that a midsummer blockbuster might deliver another established star and cement the team’s status as a legitimate contender, here’s something to ponder:

What if the next star is already on the roster?

Even after the signing of free-agent big man Al Horford this summer and an upgrade of a team that won 48 games last season, there’s a lingering belief that Boston must add at least one more impact player to truly compete with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the clear front-runner in an otherwise jumbled Eastern Conference.

Many in an impatient fan base are willing to splurge on established talent and part with the sort of assets that could strip Boston of exactly what has positioned the team to rejoin the upper crust.

We’ve repeatedly suggested in this space that patience might be Boston’s best path to a sustained run as a true title contender. Some are so obsessed with adding the clear No. 1 in a new Big Three — a trio that would also include Horford and Isaiah Thomas — that it’s easy to overlook the fact that the team might already have a third amigo in waiting (even if that person isn’t a clear-cut No. 1 in such a trio).

FiveThirtyEight released updated CARMELO player projections last week, and it was hard not to notice the glitzy prediction for third-year guard Marcus Smart.

CARMELO didn’t just predict a monster leap for Smart this season; it pegged him a “future All-Star” with a value of $156.5 million over the next five seasons. After Smart produced 2.5 Wins Above Replacement last season, CARMELO projects him to more than double that total this season (5.1) and suggests he’ll make a pronounced offensive leap that will raise his on-court value to $26.2 million this season (he’ll actually earn just $3.6 million on his rookie-scale deal).

To put Smart’s CARMELO projection in perspective, Thomas owned a 7.3 WAR last season and is projected to drop to 4.9 this year. Jae Crowder, maybe Boston’s closest thing to an All-Star behind Thomas last season, posted a 6.1 WAR last year and is projected to dip to 4.5. Of players currently on the Celtics’ roster for the 2016-17 season, only newcomer Horford (8.9 WAR last season) is projected to have a higher WAR than Smart this year (Horford is projected at 5.7).

The Celtics landed a star in Al Horford, but some parts of Boston’s fanbase feel another upgrade is necessary. Brian Babineau/NBAE …

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