Marcus Smart told Marc J. Spears of Andscape that he was “hurt” after the Boston Celtics traded him to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Smart spent nine seasons with the Celtics.
“It definitely hurt,” Smart said. “It hurt because I grew up there. I built a relationship with Jaylen [Brown] and Jayson [Tatum] and the rest of those guys on that team. We’ve been through a lot. Those guys pulled up to my mom’s funeral when my mom passed away. They took time out of their day to come show love and support. That means a lot. And our relationship was much deeper than basketball. Those guys can call on me whenever and I’m going to be there and vice versa.”
The Celtics drafted Smart with the sixth overall pick in the 2014 draft out of Oklahoma State. Smart made three All-Defensive teams with Boston. He also won the 2021-22 Defensive Player of the Year Award.
“And I think that was the hardest part over anything other than everything I have done,” Smart said. “The way that I carry myself and the respect that I give, just to not get a heads-up. ‘Hey this is what we are doing …’ But there is no bad blood. Like I said, it’s a business. With that being said, you do business the right way and that is you don’t mix pleasure with business and that’s where you get in trouble. I can’t get mad in it for the business side. It’s just the respect and the fact that I’ve done so much for this organization and in this community that the least I deserve is a little heads-up.”
The Celtics traded Smart to the Grizzlies as part of a three-team trade with the Washington Wizards. Boston acquired Kristaps Porzingis from Washington, while Memphis sent Tyus Jones to Washington.
Smart is averaging 12.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.1 steals and 0.3 blocks for the Grizzlies this season while shooting 40.5% from the field, 26.3% from beyond the arc and 78.3% from the free-throw line. He’s only played in 17 games due to an ankle injury.
The Grizzlies are 11-23. They are in 13th place in the Western Conference standings. The Celtics, meanwhile, have the best record in the NBA at 26-7.
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