I’m a Boston Celtics fan. I have been for as long as I’ve cared about basketball, which has been roughly the last twenty-five years. Marcus Smart was a part of the last nine. His time with the Celtics came to an end on Wendesday.
Boston struck a late-night deal with the Washington Wizards and Memphis Grizzlies that sent Smart to Memphis. The Wizards walked away with Tyus Jones, Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala, and a Celtics’ second-round pick, while the Celtics netted Kristaps Porzingis and a pair of first-round selections.
The trade came as a shock.
Boston had been rumored to be in deep discussions on a somewhat similar framework with Malcolm Brodgon as the point guard on the move to join the Clippers (no Grizzlies involved) that had fallen apart earlier that day. Smart’s inclusion represented a drastic shift in fan sentiment around the resurrected transaction.
The former DPOY has been the heart and soul of the Celtics’ organization for nearly a decade. He fought and clawed every second he spent on the court in Boston. He was a positive presence in the community, a leader on the team, and competitive psychopath capable of swinging huge games through sheer effort, guile, and willingness to constantly get battered and bruised.
He made the Playoffs in every single season of his career.
The love the Celtics’ fan base has rained down on Smart through the years - and the defensiveness it has shown when outsiders try to critique him - was hard-earned. His supporters have not proven ready to let him go, with many Bostonians panning Brad Stevens’ decision to trade him away.
Its not hard to understand that perspective. Sports aren’t always about extracting maximum transactional value. In fact, from a fan perspective they’re very rarely about that. We want to build connections to players, to get to know them and watch them grow. We want to feel a surge of pride when the people we’ve shown support to over the years finally achieve their dreams. We don’t just want to win, we want OUR GUYS to win. Or at least that’s the ideal outcome.
But to win often means you can’t have your cake and eat it to, and only the former is of any concern to Stevens and the Celtics’ front office. He orchestrated a masterful trade. Boston managed to acquire the best player (sorry fellow Smart lovers but Porzingis is a better player) in the deal AND two first round selections.
That’s not how these things typically work.
There is a huge leadership hole to fill in Smart’s wake, and the Celtics will need to re-envision their strategy without his incredible defensive versatility, facilitation faculties, and unparalleled grifting ability, but his departure doesn’t automatically mean the team is worse.
Trades for dissimilar players are hard to evaluate specifically because the things Boston loses in sending Smart packing aren’t meant to be filled by the player coming in. Porzingis doesn’t do any of what Smart did, but he does provide an entirely new suite of skills for head coach Joe Mazzulla to work with.
The Celtics shouldn’t be looking to replicate their approach with Smart involved, but instead designing a new iteration of the team with the pieces they have available. For this trade to be a success Boston needs to move on from Smart as a team.
Doing so as a fan is less imperative. Free of the context of emotion and personal connection, the Celtics made a great trade. Living in a world devoid of emotion and personal connection isn’t a particularly compelling sell though. Feel sad Celtics fans, and when you’re ready to move on, take solace in the fact that Stevens positioned the team for future success.