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Marcus Smart Blindsided by Blockbuster Trade From Celtics to Grizzlies, per Report

The 2022 Defensive Player of the Year was reportedly shocked in the Celtics’ decision to trade him.

Wilton Jackson

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When reports surfaced that the Celtics re-established a new three-team deal to acquire Kristaps Porziņģis in a trade that would send Marcus Smart to the Grizzlies and Tyus Jones Mike Muscala and Danilo Gallinari to the Wizards early Thursday, many NBA fans were shocked by the news.

However, no one was reportedly more stunned than the longtime Celtics’ guard. Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe reported that a source close to Smart replied to news of the trade with the phrase “gut punch” and “complete shock.” 

The Globe also reported that Smart told his friends that he was “hurt” by the fact that “out of all the guards” on the team’s roster, Boston decided to trade him.

Smart, whose entire nine-year NBA career has been in Boston, “loves” the city and considered himself as Celtic lifer. “[Smart] thought was going to retire there,” per The Globe. “He wanted to retire there.”

Instead, Smart joins a gritty Grizzlies team in need of his skillset and a move that will likely make the veteran guard a valued fit for. Smart is likely to step in as point guard for Memphis as Ja Morant serves his 25-game suspension to start the 2023–24 NBA season. Even more, Smart brings a veteran presence to the Grizzlies locker room and gives Memphis another Defensive Player of the Year on its roster. Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. won the award for the 2022–23 season, after Smart won it for the Celtics the year before.

In acquiring Smart, the Grizzlies sent its 2023 and ’24 first-round picks to Boston, including the No. 25 pick in Thursday’s draft. Meanwhile, the Wizards also acquired the No. 35 pick in Thursday’s draft in addition to Jones, Muscala and Gallinari in the three-team deal.

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Wilton Jackson
WILTON JACKSON

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