While Boston Celtics fans’ may now have embraced Kristaps Porzingis and their new draft picks, it is still debatable as to whether or not losing Marcus Smart was a worthy trade-off.
One could argue there are three main reasons why trading the 2022 NBA Defensive Player of the Year to the Memphis Grizzlies could backfire on Boston.
Spark on defense
As alluded to, Smart is an elite defender who was a key reason why the Celtics made it all the way to the NBA Finals in 2022. Without his work on the perimeter, the C’s would have struggled to get past teams like Miami or Milwaukee.
Last season, Smart had the second best STL% on the team and led the club in terms of total steals. It is not known if Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown will be able to continually defend at a high level without the support that Smart typically provided.
Indeed, Porzingis could grab a decent number of rebounds throughout the season but is not the same kind of ferocious defender.
"It's all love... they ride for their city hard."
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) July 7, 2023
Marcus Smart talks Celtics' fan reaction to trade, and what he hopes to do with @YGC_Foundation in Memphis pic.twitter.com/ojMIRQ2vZO
Impact on local sports culture
As a city, Boston has struggled to find athletes that identify with the various sports teams and their fans. It is for this reason that legends like David Ortiz, Paul Pierce, and Zdeno Chara are revered by New Englanders. Marcus Smart was on track to be the next regional icon.
In his farewell Instagram message, Smart made it apparent that he greatly appreciated his time in Beantown.
“I came to Boston as a naive kid from Dallas not really knowing what to expect,” said Smart. “All I knew was the type of work ethic my momma instilled in me and I was going to work my ass off and make sure I EARNED the respect of each and every one of the fans in Boston. Which is why this was tuff. Boston, you are a very special place to me. I grew up here and met some of my best friends here. I’ll never forget my time here.”
One would be foolish to assume that front office decisions are made with emotions in mind. Executives are looking to put the best possible team on the court, not the one that is most appealing to fans.
However, culture matters. It’s one of the main reasons why the Miami Heat have been able to be so successful in the post-LeBron James era. Truthfully, there is more than one way to build a championship culture.
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Having a core of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart who’ve quite literally “grown up” in Boston compete for a championship was a powerful dynamic that would have surely enticed future free agents to come join the cause.
Even if the trio never would have gone on to recruit a fourth “star,” it’s fully possible that role players would have been willing to sign with the Celtics after seeing them come within just a few wins of the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Smart’s clear love of the city would have helped the Celtics recruit these kinds of free agent targets and convince them that Boston was the place where they could win a championship in front of some of basketball’s best fans.
Key facilitator on offense
Smart progressively became a better facilitator over his nine seasons with the Celtics. In the 2019/2020 season, the former sixth overall pick averaged 4.9 assists per game. By the conclusion of last season, this number had jumped up to 6.3.
Much of this evolution came out of necessity. Smart served as the primary ball handler when playing alongside Tatum and Brown precisely because the Celtics did not have a pure point guard worthy of starting.
With Smart’s departure, Boston is now down a key facilitator. Brown and Tatum have both shown an ability to be a floor general, but not on a consistent basis. Additionally, they are more suited to “finish” plays rather than start them.
It’s entirely possible that Kristaps Porzingis will be the “steal” of the offseason, and be the piece that gets the Celtics over the hump. But even if this is the case, it will not be an easy road.
In fact, it will most assuredly be harder after losing the defensive presence, cultural impact, and ability to facilitate that Smart brought to the table for nearly a decade.