Memphis gets a culture reset with three-team trade
The Grizzlies needed a guard with Ja Morant suspended. They also needed a leader.
After a tumultuous season in Memphis culminated in a first-round exit, the Grizzlies shook up their backcourt. They moved backup point guard Tyus Jones and two first-round picks to get former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart from the Boston Celtics.
Boston acquired Kristaps Porzingis in the trade, along with the No. 25 pick in Thursday's draft and the Golden State Warriors' first-rounder in 2024. Memphis also sent Jones to Washington, reportedly to help him land a full-time starting job.
Smart has played for the Celtics for all nine years of his career, making the playoffs every season and reaching the conference finals five times. He's a three-time member of the All-Defensive first time, and he's been a veteran leader for a Celtics team that included young stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
That may be what the young Grizzlies need after a scandal-plagued year for star Ja Morant saw him suspended for eight games during the season and the first 25 games of the 2023-24 season for "wielding firearms on social media."
But it wasn't just the guns on Instagram Live. Memphis held a players-only meeting in March where center Steven Adams complained that the players - specifically Morant - were going out and partying too much on the road, where the team was 16-25, compared to 35-6 at home.
The Grizzlies as a whole seemed to lack discipline, whether it was Morant's countless off-court incidents, Dillon Brooks' 18 technical fouls and three suspensions and the team's never-ending battles with opposing teams, players and Skip Bayless adversaries.
Now, the Grizzlies have acquired a defensive ace, a solid passer and perhaps most important, a grown-up besides Adams. It's a necessary step for the wildly-talented Grizzlies if they want to take the next step as a team.
In addition, Smart's whole game evokes the tough, defensive-minded "Grit n' Grind" era of Memphis' playoff teams of ten years ago. He can play point with Morant out to start the season and slide over to shooting guard when he returns. Smart can take on some of the ball-handling burdens off Morant, but he also has years of complementing ball-dominant scorers, from Isaiah Thomas to Kyrie Irving to Tatum.
But most of all, Smart brings seriousness and maturity to the Grizzlies and is locked in for a very reasonable $60M for the next three years. While it cost Memphis two picks, this is a team that added five rookies before last season. Besides Smart, they have only one player over the age of 27 - Adams. (Luke Kennard turns 27 on Saturday).
Memphis didn't need more rookies. They needed a veteran. And a culture reset. They're hoping Smart can give them both.
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