> After signing a four-year extension with Boston in 2021 and cementing his place as the starting point guard, the questions finally stopped. But he understood a deal would come one day.
> “If I’m being quite frank, I knew I would be traded eventually,” Smart said. “Just figured it would be the next season, just based off my contract and with the new CBA. We already knew that. But it was just the way it happened. I was told everything was good after asking multiple times. Like, ‘I’m hearing (rumors), what’s going on?’ And they’re like, ‘No, you’re good, you’re good, you’re good.’ And then when I do hear about the trade, it’s from Shams (Charania) on Twitter before I hear from the team.”
[Article](https://theathletic.com/4991470/2023/10/24/ja-morant-marcus-smart-memphis-grizzlies?source=user-shared-article)
by Nyhrox
25 Comments
Celtics caught shit for telling Ray Allen he was in trade talks that didn’t go thru. They catch shit for not telling Smart he’s in trade talks. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
That really sucks. It sounds like he wasn’t going to be traded but when the Clippers pulled out they had to scramble to keep the deal alive before Porzingis’s deadline.
This was reported awhile go.
Smart was told he was good. Clips couldn’t get Brogdon’s physical done before Porzingis’ player option deadline. Clips backed out and Celtics went ahead with trading Smart instead. Clips and Celtics did re-engage in the Brogdon trade after, but the Celtics pounced when Jrue became available.
the Celtics had a deal to send Brogdon to LA for KP. LA held up the deal due to Brogdon’s physicals, and KP refused to extend his opt-in deadline. so instead they had to pivot literally in the final hour to send Smart to Memphis to get the deal done
I honestly don’t think the Celtics had any intention of trading Smart but their hand was forced by that situation. it’s unfortunate that he ended up getting blindsided but Boston did what they had to do to push the trade through. should be a reminder that players don’t owe teams any loyalty though
This sucks if you’re the player and I totally get Smarts reaction to it. But cmon to any poster here acting like the Celtics are the only team that has traded a player without him knowing it
Obviously it’s Tatums team. He is the only player safe. Anyone else can be traded at a moments notice if it will make the team better
I mean, for what it’s worth, he was good because Brogdon was at the center of the trade. So the Clippers pulling out likely caught Celtics management off-guard.
When teams are scrambling at the last second to get deals done they don’t have the luxury of keeping everyone in the loop and making sure they are happy. If Smart doesn’t understand this he is delusional about the business he is in.
I feel this will go against the grain, but with the way player camps handle trade talks it’s probably best they’re not informed. The whole Bogdan Bogdanovic incident probably has caused front offices to just have procedure that nothing can be expressly shared because of the risk it’ll be misused.
I really think we weren’t trying to trade him but when brogdan for porzingis fell through Brad had to pivot really quickly.
I’m sure memphis will love him he’s a grit and grind type guy and a great person off the court from what I’ve seen. Hopefully he comes back to Boston at some point
No one cared when the Bucks did this to Jrue, but because it’s the Celtics everyone will freak out
Although it’s messed up that he was told he’s staying put, if you’re not a superstar you should never think you’re safe from being traded. Tatum is the only
Celtic that should feel that way.
It sucks but he probably really wasn’t on the trade block before the trigger was actually pulled.
It’s pretty crazy that GMs don’t even give players a heads up before moving them
The funniest part is, people will shit on the Celtics, but Brad was literally at Smart’s wedding a couple of months later. They are still tight, even if Smart was blindsided in the moment.
Pretty annoying…you really should only say this unless you’re 100% sure the player is off the table. Is it that out of line for a front office to say look we can’t guarantee anything but do know we value you and ideally would like to keep you around.
This how I feel right now with my job lmao, they say they will re-sign me but ive been jobless for 3 days now …. 🙁
It’s a cold business.
If I’m a team trading a player under contract, I’m not telling them anything until the deal is done. If they find out before I can tell them, oh well. The conversation still happens and you send them on their way.
It’s hard to tell how any of these guys are gonna react….some of them have some Twitter fingers, and others could have substance issues triggered by the news, that’ll lead to Twitter fingers.
this is why player “loyalty” means jack shit
Not the first and won’t be the last time this happens. Just business
Yeah, you’re good until you’re not. It really doesn’t benefit the owners to let the player know they’re in trade talks. We’ve seen it before and it turns ugly. Trades are best when it’s a surprise 🫢
Players keep bashing Celtics management about getting blindsided yet they’re consistently stacked, sign players in FA and have no problem extending anyone. This is such a non-story.
That’s the business
The guy makes a lot of money to play a game
“Oh yeah we’re shopping you around. But if we cant trade you, it’ll be ok right?”
This is so stupid, I’m pretty sure every team treats it like this