Marcus Smart’s fiancé Maisa woke him up in the middle of the night after the Celtics traded him to the Grizzlies thinking the Malcolm Brogdon trade already went through. Smart’s agent called Maisa around midnight, and though Smart expected Boston might trade him eventually, he never thought his tenure would end now.
The week prior, Smart said Celtics officials told him he stood on stable ground with the team, and not to worry about a trade. Speaking at The 14 League at Dana Barros Basketball Club, where fans, friends and members of his foundation celebrated his time in Boston and sent him off to Memphis, Smart expressed how much the trade shocked him. The Grizzlies acquired him last month in the Kristaps Porziņģis trade.
“I went to the gym next day to get my stuff, talked to Brad (Stevens) and Joe (Mazzulla),” Smart said. “It was definitely shocking to find out that way, especially because the week before, I was already told we were good, there were no trade talks with me and we were good. I understand the business side of it, I’ve always been like that. I’m the first one to tell anyone, you can’t mix personal with business, it just doesn’t mix. I understand it’s a business. For me, it’s just the courtesy. They probably already knew they were thinking about trading me, they had this trade in their back pocket just in case something else didn’t happen. And for me, it’s just the simple fact, hey, we’re thinking about trading you, most likely we’ll trade you, just letting you know, thank you. Especially with telling me the week before, my house flooding and having to deal with that. It was a whole lot at once. I love this team, I love this organization, I love the fans and the support I’ve gotten for my nine years. I’m excited and energetic to start my new life with the Grizzlies.”
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