"Goodbyes are hard"- Marcus Smart gives city of Boston an emotional goodbye after shock trade to Grizzlies
On June 22, the Boston Celtics confirmed they're trading Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies as part of a three-team deal. Smart had been with the Celtics for nine seasons, making the playoffs in all those years.
However, with Boston's logjam at the guard position and rumors of Malcolm Brogdon being 'untradeable' due to injury, Smart was used as a makeweight for Kristaps Porzingis.
During his tenure with the Boston Celtics, Smart had become a genuine fan-favorite due to his level of commitment on the court and philanthropy off it. As such, Celtics fans took the trade quite hard.
However, on June 23, Marcus Smart released a tweet thanking Boston and its fans before declaring his excitement to be joining the Grizzlies.
Goodbyes are hard.
But the future is exciting. https://t.co/hULgrVXkmi
Marcus Smart was the 2022 NBA Defensive Player of the Year and is widely seen as a culture setter due to his aggressive style of play and commitment to winning.
As such, the Grizzlies will look forward to integrating the combative guard into their rotation, having supported Mike Conley - who plays a similar brand of basketball - during his tenure in Memphis.
Smart played 581 regular-season games with the Celtics, averaging 10.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists while shooting 41.5% from the field and 33.6% from deep.
The Texas native also participated in 108 postseason games, providing his team with 12.8 points, 4.9 assists, and 4.3 rebounds on 39.6% shooting from the field and 33.4% shooting from the deep.
Despite adding Kristaps Porzingis to their roster, Marcus Smart will be missed in Boston.
Boston Celtics considered Jordan Poole trade
Before the Boston Celtics set their sights on adding Kristaps Porzingis to their rotation, they flirted with the idea of adding Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Jordan Poole, as first reported by Yahoo Sports Jake Fischer.
“There were also conversations between Golden State and Boston, sources said, about sending Poole to the Celtics, before Boston went forward and traded Marcus Smart in the three-team trade with the Grizzlies that brought Kristaps Porzingis to the TD Garden.”
The Warriors discussed trading Jordan Poole to the Celtics before Marcus Smart got traded to the Grizzlies, per @JakeLFischer https://t.co/TMVwMZNerV
Poole eventually ended up being traded to the Washington Wizards, with Chris Paul heading to Golden State to team up with Steph Curry and co. By joining the Wizards, Poole will now be able to rebuild his value around the league after struggling for the Warriors last season.
For Boston, the trade would have been harder to get over the line, as the fanbase would not have accepted a Smart for Poole deal. That's especially considering they weren't happy with the Porzingis move, bit they did understand the reasoning behind it.
The Boston Celtics will now hope that the re-balancing of their roster will put them in a better position to contend for an NBA championship this season and that Porzingis will prove to be the missing piece as a modern-day big man with three-level scoring ability and a penchant for post-work.
Furthermore, Boston moved to limit some of the defensive loss of losing Marcus Smart by acquiring Jordan Walsh on draft night. However, Smart was more than just a defensive presence to Boston, he was also their heart and soul.