Marcus Smart took to Twitter after getting traded by the Boston Celtics to the Memphis Grizzlies a day before the 2023 NBA Draft.
The Defensive Player of the Year said goodbye to Boston and hello to Memphis.
Smart was shocked when he was traded by the Celtics to the Grizzlies, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium and Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. The Celtics traded Smart to the Grizzlies in the three-team trade that brought Kristaps Porzingis to Boston. Memphis traded Tyus Jones to Washington as part of the deal.
The Celtics drafted Smart with the sixth overall pick in the 2014 draft out of Oklahoma State. The 29-year-old averaged 10.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 581 games with Boston while shooting 38.6% from the field, 32.3% from beyond the arc and 77.7% from the free-throw line.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Marcus Smart, Boston Celtics & Memphis Grizzlies Updates
“Marcus, as I told him, when he got here, we were 25-57 the year before,” Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said. “And the greatest legacy you can leave is to be someplace and it’s better off because you were there. And I think that everybody here feels that way. I think that he will always be appreciated and thought of so fondly here for any number of reasons.”
The Celtics lost to the Miami Heat in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals in seven games. They now have a Big 3 of Porzingis, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Boston is expected to sign Brown to the supermax extension this offseason.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Marcus Smart, Boston Celtics & Memphis Grizzlies Updates
Smart met with the Grizzlies when he was a restricted free agent in July 2018. He is now teammates with Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. Memphis will need his veteran presence as the team navigates Morant’s 25-game suspension. The team also needs Smart’s hard-nosed defensive impact after moving on from Dillon Brooks ahead of his impending free agency.
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