Marcus Smart pens goodbye to Boston Celtics

Marcus Smart penned a goodbye to the Boston Celtics Friday following a three-team trade which sent him to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Goodbyes are hard.
But the future is exciting. pic.twitter.com/hULgrVXkmi

— marcus smart (@smart_MS3) June 23, 2023

“Where do I even begin… As I start to think about the last 9 years I have a lot of emotions running thru me. I came to Boston as a naive kid from Dallas not really knowing what to expect,” Smart wrote on Twitter. “All I knew was the type of work ethic my momma instilled in me and I was going to work my ass off and make sure I EARNED the respect of each and every one of the fans in Boston. Which is why this was tuff.

“Boston, you are a very special place to me. I grew up here and met some of my best friends here. I’ll never forget my time here. Ultimately, we didn’t get that 18th banner but I’m VERY VERY proud of the success we had. I’m going to miss so many things about Boston but mainly my teammates, fans, and kids and our hospital charity work.

“It was a great 9 years Boston, thank you for all the love…but now it’s time to look forward. I can’t wait to get to Memphis and get started. We have something special brewing here! Am blessed to be part of Grizzly nation. Let’s get to work.”

The Celtics traded Smart to the Grizzlies as part of a three-team deal to acquire Kristaps Porzingis from the Washington Wizards. Memphis traded Tyus Jones to Washington as a result, and the No. 25 overall pick in Thursday’s draft to Boston, in addition to a 2024 first-round pick via the Golden State Warriors. Washington also received the No. 35 overall pick on Thursday from Boston, as well as Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala.

Marcus Smart on the move after surprising trade

The most surprising part of the trade might be Smart, who won the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 and is a three-time All-Defense Team selection. This past season, he averaged 11.5 points, 6.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game to help anchor the Celtics defense.

Porzingis will have to opt in to his $36 million contract to make it happen. He has bounced around the league after the New York Knicks selected him fourth overall in the 2015 NBA Draft. He also played for the Dallas Mavericks before arriving in Washington ahead of the 2021-22 season.

This past season, Porzingis averaged 23.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game in 65 appearances for the Wizards.