To get their offseason going, the Celtics made an unexpected move, trading Marcus Smart to the Grizzlies as part of the three-team deal that sent Kristaps Porzingis to Boston.
Smart, who was selected sixth overall by the Celtics in the 2014 NBA Draft, spent the last nine seasons endearing himself to Celtics fans and the Boston community, becoming universally known as the heart and soul of the franchise.
The move came as a shock to Celtics supporters, who have had a difficult time coming to terms with Smart no longer playing for their favorite franchise. As Smart revealed on Sunday, the trade was also a shock to him for multiple reasons.
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"I was actually asleep, and my agent called my fiancée. She woke me up out of a sleep," Smart told reporters at a pro-am game he hosted in Stoughton, Mass. "It was right after the deal had been made, and I think Shams [Charania of The Athletic] had already tweeted it out. That's how we found out."
For Smart, the most shocking part of the deal is that it came not long after the Celtics informed him that he was safe from being moved.
"The week before [the trade] I was already told that we were good, and there were no trade talks [involving] me," Smart said. "I was good, so we weren't expecting that."
Despite the nature of the trade, however, Smart maintains there are no hard feelings between him and the organization or any of its players.
"I understand the business side of it," Smart said. "I've always been like that, and anybody that knows me knows that I'm the first one to tell people that you can't put personal with business — it just doesn't mix. And if you do, you're gonna get yourself hurt."
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Smart would go on to emphasize that there is "no beef" between him and star forwards Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. He called Brown and Tatum his "brothers for life."
On the love from Celtics fans, Smart said that "it's hard to say goodbye," adding that he has encountered a number of fans that have been moved to tears because of the trade.
Over Smart's nine seasons in Boston, the Celtics advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals five times and reached the 2022 NBA Finals, falling two wins shy of a title. Smart earned three All-Defensive First Team selections and won the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year award.
He now joins a Grizzlies team that wants to get over the hump after two consecutive seasons of finishing second in the Western Conference with limited playoff success.