The Boston Celtics made a very audacious move to trade away their guard Marcus Smart in exchange of getting Kristaps Porzingis. Although it is very tough Smart has joined the Memphis Grizzlies. The three trade involved three teams and was intended to make the team more versatile.
However many people criticized the move as they thought Smart was a player who brought the heart and soul to this unit and trading him away wasn’t nice. Recently Celtics forward Grant Williams also admitted that the news came as a shocker to him and it definitely hurts him to see Smart joining another team.
“It’s something that definitely hurts a little bit just because you’ve been with someone for so long and he’s a phenomenal person, phenomenal teammate and plays with the most heart and passion of anyone across this entire organization and the league,” Williams stated.
Smart is a player who adds character to any team he will play for and hence changing the topic, Williams highlighted how this was a part of the business and fans must trust Brad Stevens on it. He also assured the fans that Smart will be brilliant anywhere he goes in the NBA.
“You have to be excited about where the team is headed and what direction they’re trying to take. You have to trust Brad [Stevens] and you have to not really hold too much against it because we know that Marcus is gonna be great wherever he goes,” the forward explained.
With a lot of issues surrounding Ja Morant, the Grizzlies needed someone who can hustle, and shoot the ball and with that, they are getting the leadership and experience of Smart, who was the defensive player of the year recently. Therefore Williams believes that the Grizzlies are getting an ideal player according to their needs.
“They needed a player like that to defend and also be able to shoot and knock down shots and lead. He’s very, very able to do that and this team is gonna have to step up in that absence,” he added.
Smart averaged 11.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.9 3-pointers per game over 61 games last season. The Grizzlies lacked someone who can add that leadership and experience as they fell in the first round against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Grant Williams’s future with the Celtics is also up in the clouds as there’s no guarantee that he will return to Boston for the next season. He is set to enter restricted free agency after failing to agree a contract extension with the franchise.
“Whatever happens, you know? I have not much control in this because I allowed my agents and everybody else to focus in on that,” he revealed when asked about his future.
The forward is very happy to come back to the Celtics if Brad Steven and others want him here. Or else he would have to go through a transition by joining some other franchise.
All in all, we are experiencing winds of change for the Celtics as they failed to lift their banner 18 once again last season after losing in the Eastern Conference final against the Miami Heat. Therefore they have made chances and whether they will be effective or not only time will tell.
