After falling short against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Boston Celtics decided it was time to shake things up in an effort to take the next step in the 2023-24 NBA season.
The big move for Boston this summer, along with signing Jaylen Brown to a massive contract extension, was acquiring star forward Kristaps Porzingis in a blockbuster deal with the Washington Wizards.
As part of this deal, the Celtics sent defensive-minded point guard Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies, ending his long stint with the team, which went back to 2014 when the team drafted him out of Oklahoma State with the No. 6 overall pick in the NBA Draft.
Although this was a questionable move as it makes Boston better offensively, they’ll take a hit defensively; the Celtics are sticking with their decision, even though it may have rubbed some of the players on the team the wrong way, namely Jayson Tatum.
Recently, Tatum made some interesting comments about Smart, according to The Commercial Appeal via NBACentral.
Jayson Tatum says Marcus Smart is ‘the best defender in the league’
“He’s just a guy that you love to have on your team.”
(Via @memphisnews ) pic.twitter.com/ozg7kxa9Up
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 10, 2023
Before last season, Smart won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, which is impressive as it is a regular-season award that usually goes to frontcourt players.
Unfortunately, Smart started to regress a bit, which may be why the Celtics felt it was time to move him, especially if they can get a player like Porzingis in return.
Although Smart likely still has some years left to play at a high level defensively, it’s hard to put him ahead of some of the best in the league today, like Jaren Jackson Jr., Joel Embiid, and Anthony Davis.
NEXT: Fans Receive Update On Reported Kristaps Porzingis Injury
