‘It’s the end of an era’: Here are the early reactions to the Celtics reportedly trading Marcus Smart
"If Danny Ainge was still running the team, I don't think they would've traded him."
The Celtics are reportedly set to make a three-team trade that will have profound ramifications on the current roster.
Marcus Smart, one of the leaders of the Celtics, is set to be traded to the Grizzlies as part of a deal that will bring Kristaps Porzingis to Boston. In addition, the Celtics will also acquire two first-round picks (including the 25th pick in the 2024 draft).
What exactly do some of the experts think about the reported trade? Here’s a quick overview:
Chris Forsberg, NBC Sports Boston
Forsberg said he was still processing the fact that Smart had been included in the deal after it initially appeared the Celtics would trade Malcolm Brogdon instead.
“The initial reaction after I picked my jaw up off the floor is that it’s the end of an era,” said Forsberg. “You think about it: Brad Stevens took over this job 10 years ago, and after the first season, Marcus Smart was a draft pick and they have made the playoffs every year since. Marcus is sort of the heart and soul of the team. On a day that was supposed to be dominated by the headline of acquiring Kristaps Porzingis now turns into a little bit of trying to figure out how we got to this point. Marcus Smart was not supposed to be in that original deal.
He also theorized that the move might have been made without an overarching plan in mind.
“Where do they go from here? I’m not sure the team knows,” Forsberg said. “I’m not sure the team was braced just a couple of hours ago to prepare for life without Marcus Smart. Certainly those conversations have to be had, but it’s just a bit of a surprise move here. Celtics not content to run it back. I do think this opens the door for Porzingis to be here beyond this season. You don’t pay this cost, likely, if you don’t believe you’re going to sign him beyond that.”
Adam Himmelsbach, The Boston Globe
In his column, Himmelsbach said that the acquisition of Porzingis “reshapes this franchise and gives coach Joe Mazzulla one of the league’s most unique offensive weapons.”
On Smart, he pointed out that the 29-year-old was the “connective tissue of this Celtics era.”
“Wild that it’s over so suddenly.”
Jay King, The Athletic
Some of the frequently discussed traits that Smart brought to the Celtics were his off-court contributions, as well as his leadership. King emphasized this in noting that what Boston might miss most about Smart can’t be quantified in a box score.
“Losing Smart won’t just be a big deal on the court, but also in the locker room,” King wrote. “He brought a toughness to the Celtics. He became a solid point guard and one of the team’s best passers. [Derrick] White should slide over to starting point guard now. He’s capable of that, but Smart’s absence will be felt on both ends of the floor. As impactful as his defense was, his court vision could be what the Celtics miss most. Or his attitude, both on and off the court. He always brought energy. Every day, for nine straight years, Smart’s voice could be heard. It was often louder than any other.”
Brian Windhorst, ESPN
Speaking during a Thursday appearance on ESPN show “Get Up!”, Windhorst began with an interesting hypothetical.
“This is a real stunning trade. I have to tell you: If Danny Ainge was still running the team, I don’t think they would’ve traded him,” Windhorst theorized. “I’ve heard Danny Ainge talk about Marcus Smart.
“I have absolutely immense respect for Marcus Smart,” Windhorst added. “I’d want him on my team. I’ve been in the locker room after huge [Celtics] wins and listened to him. I’ve been in the locker room after terrible losses and listened to him. He is the definition of a leader in the way he plays.”
Still, Windhorst pointed out that by trading a central piece of the roster, the Celtics may have implicitly acknowledged that the 2022-2023 team did not have the right mix to win a title.
“They are changing the shape of their team by making this trade, but they are also admitting that the shape of their team wasn’t a championship team,” Windhorst said. “Their mix didn’t work. And one of the things about that team — I don’t think it’s because of Marcus — for some reason [Boston] has focus problems, and they also had a bit of a roster balance problem. I don’t know if you’re taking away a leader like Marcus that that’s going to fix the focus issue, and they have more moves to make.”
Michael Pina, The Ringer
Assessing where the Celtics (and the other teams in the deal) stand, Pina essentially graded it as “incomplete.”
“On the whole, this trade nudged all the participants in the direction they want to go,” he explained. “At the same time, all three are probably looking at themselves in the mirror, realizing they have a lot more work to do over the next few weeks.”
And, as Adrian Wojnarowski pointed out in an ESPN interview, Pina explained that a motivating factor for the trade were the team’s looming salary cap concerns.
“Boston’s return was plenty fair (Two firsts? In this economy?), but the impetus of the deal was less about bettering a championship-caliber basketball team than about managing a looming financial strain brought on by the NBA’s draconian collective bargaining agreement. But by exchanging the $41 million Smart had left on his deal after next season for Porzingis’s expiring contract, Boston has cut costs and infused itself with some more flexibility (it owns all its draft picks) while forming a balanced, humongous, and über-talented team.”
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