Trading Marcus Smart is a huge deal.
The veteran point guard was the longest tenured Boston Celtics player. He's a strong a leader. He is an elite defensive player. He was the heart and soul of the team in many ways.
It's a bold move to remove that kind of player from the roster when he makes such a profound impact on and off the court.
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Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens commented on the three-team blockbuster trade -- which sent Smart to the Grizzlies and Kristaps Porzingis from the Wizards to Boston, among other assets -- for the first time after Thursday night's 2023 NBA Draft.
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He acknowledged how difficult it was to trade a player like Smart.
"Yeah, I mean, really hard," Stevens said at a press conference. "I said this at the start of the summer, I thought that we needed to balance our roster and make sure that we look at the best ways to do that. And that meant that we were likely to lose a really, really, really good player. And as far as Marcus, as I told him, when he got here, we were 25-57 the year before. And the greatest legacy you can leave is to leave a place and it's better off because you were there. I think that everybody here feels that way. I think that he will always be appreciated and thought of so fondly here for any number of reasons. Everyone loves the way he plays and how hard he plays, but also his work in the community."
"We’re all really grateful to have had Marcus in our life for as long as we’ve had and we are sad to see him go but know that he’s gonna have a huge impact on a really good Memphis team. So very difficult, very difficult conversations, really hard to do. But he’ll always have Boston for sure. I think Boston really appreciates him, and certainly I do, and he knows we’ll do anything for him, but it was hard."
Telling Smart about the trade late Wednesday night wasn't easy for Stevens -- those conversations are always tough. But he also got a chance to see Smart in person on Thursday morning and express his gratitude for everything the veteran guard did for the franchise. The Celtics made five trips to the Eastern Conference Finals and one NBA Finals appearance during Smart's nine seasons in Boston.
"He actually came in (Thursday) morning, so I got a chance to see him this morning," Stevens said. "You know, it's just -- you're not gonna be around a guy like that you like every day, but you always have the relationship that these teammates have and these coaches have and everybody in the building and everybody in the organization has, and that'll be forever."