Marcus Smart Sent to the Grizzles in Three-Team Trade
(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
Last night, the Celtics, Grizzles, and Wizards conducted a three-team trade that sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Celtics, Marcus Smart to the Grizzles, and Tyus Jones, Danilo Gallinari, and Mike Muscala to the Wizards. The Celtics also acquired the Grizzles’ 25th overall draft pick in tonight’s draft, alongside a 2024 top-four protected first-round pick via the Golden State Warriors, while the Wizards received the 35th overall draft pick in tonight’s draft from the Celtics. It marks the end of the Marcus Smart era in Boston, as he was the longest-tenured player on the roster up until now. The 2022 NBA Defensive Player of the Year racked up a number of accolades with the Celtics, as Smart was recognized as the Hustle Player of the Year on three occasions and was a part of the NBA All-Defensive first team three times.
Smart will provide the Grizzles with much-needed short-term relief at the point guard position, as the Grizzles will be without star point guard Ja Morant for the first 25 games of the year. His presence on the Grizzles will instill veteran leadership and reciprocate a sense of grit and toughness to a young Grizzles’ roster. Although some believe Smart is not worth the price of two first-round draft picks, he can provide an instant impact on the defensive end with versatility in switches and offensively as a lead ball-handler and shooter. Smart led the Celtics in deflections last season and is coming off of shooting 36.1 percent from deep in the Celtic’s most recent playoff run. Smart’s non-stop motor on both ends makes him a valuable addition for the Grizzlies to serve as a role model for the promising young guards Morant and Desmond Bane. Once Morant returns to the lineup, the Grizzlies will have a trio of some of the best guards in the league in their backcourt.
Meanwhile, for Boston, they acquire a lengthy floor-spacing big in Porzingis. Kristaps Porzingis is coming off his best statistical year with the Wizards, as he put up 23.2 points per game, 8.4 rebounds per game, and 1.5 blocks per contest. He will be a much better floor spacer than Al Horford, as Porzingis shot over 38 percent from three last year. He also provides the Celtics with a heightened presence in the post, as Porzingis averaged 1.18 points per post-up possession last year, which was the eighth-best percentage in the NBA. Boston struggled to find offensive production out of their frontcourt last season, so the addition of a versatile scorer in Porzingis makes a lot of sense to enhance their chances at making another deep playoff run. At 7’3 with impressive mobility, he provides defensive value as a rim protector to compliment the Celtic’s defense. Although the addition of Porzingis requires the Celtics to take on his 36 million-dollar salary, he will be a great third option offensively for a Celtic’s team that didn’t see much scoring out of the likes of Al Horford, Robert Williams, and Grant Williams. In this deal, the Celtics also found a way to find future bench depth by acquiring two first-round draft picks. This means they’ll have to find value with the 25th overall pick tonight so they don’t need to outsource potentially pricey bench depth in free agency.
As for the Wizards, this move pushed their team further into full-rebuild mode. It makes a ton of sense for the rebuilding Wizards to get rid of Porzingis’s costly contract and take on a high second-round pick and cheaper role players. Tyus Jones was touted by many as the best backup point guard in the league last year, as he is coming off of averaging career highs in minutes played (24.3), scoring (10.3 PPG), and assists (5.2 APG). Gallinari is coming off a torn ACL he suffered playing for Team Italy in the FIBA World Cup in 2022. He didn’t suit up for the Celtics this past season, and last averaged 11.7 PPG and 4.7 RPG for the Hawks in the 2021-2022 season. He will provide valuable veteran leadership and perimeter shooting to an inexperienced Wizards roster that will certainly be moved around over the course of the offseason.
