{"id":51286,"date":"2023-08-01T11:00:35","date_gmt":"2023-08-01T15:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=51286"},"modified":"2023-07-31T17:52:10","modified_gmt":"2023-07-31T21:52:10","slug":"what-marcus-smarts-trade-really-means-for-the-boston-celtics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/08\/01\/what-marcus-smarts-trade-really-means-for-the-boston-celtics\/","title":{"rendered":"What Trading Marcus Smart REALLY Means For The Boston Celtics?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a drastic turn of events, the NBA\u2019s offseason trade festivities saw the Boston Celtics part ways with their former Defensive Player of the Year and point guard: Marcus Smart<\/a><\/strong>. Smart, (who\u2019s hustle and effort on the floor made him an integral part of the C\u2019s team that hit the finals just a year ago) had become a mainstay in Celtic\u2019s lore, being the team leader in points and assists during his 9 year tenure. All of that obviously came to an abrupt halt on Wednesday, with Smart being the main piece of a trade package dealt<\/a> to bring in\u00a0Kristaps Porzingis<\/strong>. <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The same fans who constantly harped on Smart\u2019s shortcomings now appeared devastated, sharing tributes and memories related to his name. Where this love was when he was actually on the team is a worthwhile question, but better late than never.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s for sure though, is that Boston is definitely going to miss Marcus Smart.<\/span><\/p>\n

What trading Marcus Smart REALLY means for the Boston Celtics<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Smart’s impact<\/h2>\n

In today\u2019s league, it\u2019s rare to come across such a player. Most hoopers are typically focused on getting the most money (rightfully so), and winning gets blurred out of focus. That\u2019s what separated Marcus Smart from those around him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether it was playing defense, diving for loose balls, playmaking on offense, or morale boosts, Smart embodied Celtic’s basketball. Sure he\u2019d miss the occasional forced shot or commit some bad turnovers, but so does everyone else. When it came down to it though, Smart always showed up and was ready to compete. A quality that the Celtics otherwise lacked in most of last season, and will have to to replace moving forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to his contributions on the parquet, Smart himself always held the city itself to a high regard. Whether it was interactions with fans, working with local charities, visiting neighborhood hospitals, or hosting summer camps and basketball events in the vicinity, the young game changer did his part to integrate himself into the community. All of which helped create the ideology that he\u2019d be here for a while, and retire a Boston Celtic. It seemed fitting that even post his prime, Marcus would remain on the sidelines motivating his teammates similar to Miami\u2019s Udonis Haslem<\/strong>.<\/a> Unfortunately, that\u2019s no longer in the cards after this weeks transaction.<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking ahead for Boston<\/h3>\n

Where the Celtics go from here though, is an interesting question. There\u2019s no doubt that Porzingis is a positive acquisition for Boston, and provides the offense that Boston needs. If health permits, KP joining Jayson Tatum<\/a> <\/strong>and Jaylen Brown<\/a><\/strong> gives the Celtics their best big 3 since 2008. Don\u2019t get too excited though, the roster is not complete yet. Adding Jordan Walsh<\/strong><\/a> and an alarming amount of 2nd round picks on draft night is definitely something, but it\u2019s not what\u2019s going to help Boston break their championship drought. The future picks are best being packaged alongside someone such as Malcolm Brodgon, <\/a><\/strong>Sam Hauser<\/strong>,<\/a> or Grant Williams<\/a><\/strong> in a deal to acquire someone who can contribute right NOW. The Celtics also have around $5 million in cap space available for a veteran\u2019s minimum signing, which would be fitting for free agents such as Pat Beverly<\/a> <\/strong>or Seth Curry<\/strong>. <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

This is where Boston general manager Brad Stevens<\/strong><\/a> is to take action. The Celtics are often reluctant to swap out bench players, rather opting for the same second and third units yearly. This results in the C\u2019s having an extremely outmatched bench come playoff time, and is exposed unsurprisingly quick.<\/span><\/p>\n

The next step for Boston<\/h3>\n

Now that Stevens has shown willingness to do away with key pieces, it would be wrong for him to stop here. The Celtics are clearly in win-now mode, and are lucky enough to have a core of players all under 30 to help that process. It would be in their best interest to take advantage of this ASAP, and eliminate every weak link on the depth chart. Being too picky on which free agents to add (as Boston constantly is), could cost the city the best shot at a championship in years. So, it\u2019s important that the front office addresses this need immediately.<\/span><\/p>\n

If the Celtics are able to pull this off, the roster will certainly be the best it\u2019s been in years. Sure, it\u2019s going to be weird watching Marcus Smart not be present for the raising of banner 18. Something that he definitely played a pivotal part in, whether he\u2019s currently on the team or not. <\/span><\/p>\n

Smart’s fit on the Grizzlies<\/h4>\n

If it makes anyone feel better though, fans can rejoice in knowing that It\u2019s not all bad for Smart. He now finds himself on another championship contender in the Grizzlies. Memphis currently is in dire use of his needs. Smart would assimilate seamlessly into a team culture built upon defense, with fellow DPOY Jaren Jackson Jr<\/a>. in tow. Smart will prove to be a solid backcourt replacement for Dillon Brooks<\/a> as well, complementing Ja Morant<\/a> quite effectively. Thus, both Smart and the Celtics will find themselves well positioned in their new paths after all the smoke clears. Obviously it would have been better together, but sometimes that\u2019s just not how it goes. Nonetheless, wherever Marcus Smart plays, his past impact gets appreciation and respect by the city of Boston. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a drastic turn of events, the NBA\u2019s offseason trade festivities saw the Boston Celtics part ways with their former Defensive Player of the Year and point guard: Marcus Smart. Smart, (who\u2019s hustle and effort on the floor made him an integral part of the C\u2019s team that hit the finals just a year ago) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4666,"featured_media":52171,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,62],"tags":[302,428],"class_list":["post-51286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celtics","category-nba","tag-boston-celtics","tag-marcus-smart"],"modified_by":"Mike Schretter","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4666"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}