For Boston Celtics fans, it was tough to see Marcus Smart go.
A year after being traded to the Memphis Grizzlies, Smart said it was “bittersweet” watching the team he was with for nine years celebrate an NBA championship in its first season without him.
“I know everybody’s expecting me to be salty,” he said on the June 25 episode of “Run Your Race.” “There’s no animosity. It’s definitely a bittersweet feeling. It’s definitely tough because I was in the trenches with them. to not be able to finish what you started with those guys is definitely tough.”
Marcus Smart Helped Groom Boston’s Superstars
Smart was the heart and soul of the Celtics for years. His gritty play and all-out effort gave the Celtics the kind of toughness that many NBA teams lack.
He also helped groom the Celtics’ two superstars — Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, playing with Brown for seven seasons and Tatum for six.
“It was great to see those two guys come in the way that they came in and just dominate,” Smart said on “Run Your Race.”
“When they stepped on the floor, you was like, ‘We gotta watch out.’ There was no stopping them from the start. We saw that. We noticed it. That’s why they’re where they’re at now. Shout out to Jaylen and Jayson and the Boston Celtics. Congratulations on the championship.
Smart gave the duo credit for not cutting corners.
“They built that. They went through the mud and didn’t skip any steps. I was with them for nine years. It’s no coincidence they reached their goal. I’m just so proud of them, proud to be in the trenches with them.”
Smart Says He Was Pulling for the Celtics in the Finals
Smart said he wasn’t too happy when he found out about the three-team trade — which brought the Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis and veteran guard Jrue Holiday — saying he was “shocked” when it happened. He said he was sleeping, and his agent called his fiancée to deliver the news. Smart said he had been told a week earlier that nothing was in the works.
“It was definitely shocking to find out that way,” he told reporters in July 2023, “especially because the week before I was already told we were good, and there was no trade talks with me. For me, I understand the business side of it. Anybody who knows me knows that I’m the first one to tell people, you can’t put personal with business, it just doesn’t mix. And if you do, you’re going to get yourself hurt. I understand it’s a business.”
Despite the semi-rough departure, Smart insists he was pulling for the Celtics and his former teammates to get it done in the NBA Finals.
“My wife will tell you, I was screaming for those guys when they won it, just as much as anyone else,” he said. “Like I said, I have love for those guys, and I know the work that they put in.”
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Marcus Smart Opens Up About ‘Bittersweet’ Boston Celtics Championship