Getty Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Celtics speaks to the media after losing to the Golden State Warriors
It is well-known by now that the Brooklyn Nets made a play for both Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart after the Celtics proposed a trade including Brown for Kevin Durant this summer. The first proposal from the Boston Celtics was shared with Brown and Derrick White being at the center of the deal. Then Shams Charania of The Athletic shared that the Nets requested Smart to be part of the deal.
Smart hasn’t been shy when discussing what it was like being included in trade talks this summer, and in a September 14 article on The Athletic, Smart again sounded off about the trade rumors this summer.
Marcus Smart Comments Again on Trade Rumors
Smart spoke with Jared Weiss of The Athletic about a number of things regarding the Celtics, their NBA Finals run last season, and being included in trade talks in the offseason. Of the Durant rumors Smart claims he didn’t pay much attention to it.
“For someone who’s always talked about in trade talks, I didn’t really pay too much mind to that. Until it actually happens, I don’t believe it,” Smart said of the rumors. “We can sit here and say this person said this, but we don’t even know who said it. It’s like a telephone game. By the time it gets back to you, you don’t know what changed and who said what. Until it actually happens, I try to pay trade rumors no mind.”
Smart’s mindset of ignoring any rumors until they happened proved to be a good call as the latest reports have said that Brooklyn’s pursuit of Durant trades was more of a pageant than actual reality. The reports of the Celtics involvement in the trade also came out weeks after they actually occurred, so nothing really ever appeared serious in Boston’s trade talks with Brooklyn.
Previous Marcus Smart Comments on Trade Discussions
Earlier this summer, Smart commented on the trade rumors as well and especially about the other player named in the deal Jaylen Brown has navigated the rumors.
“(Brown’s) handled it great. He walks around with a smile on his face. We actually haven’t even mentioned it when we were together. We were just talking about the upcoming season and getting ourselves ready, but he’s great. He’s handling it as professionally as he can and my advice is, to anybody, don’t forget it’s a business first. When you’re doing business, personal stuff has to go out the window and can’t be the issue, so you can’t look at it like that. If your name is up there in trade talks, I look at it as a compliment. It means teams want you. That’s a good thing. The problem is if your name is not (in rumors), nobody wants you. So that’s how I’m looking at it and that’s how people should look at it. It’s tough, I understand it, but just because it’s going on, you never know. Anything can happen.”
After everything, no trade is expected to get done and Smart and Brown are expected to stay in Boston, and Durant is expected to remain on the Nets roster.