Thank you, Marcus

lexrageorge

lexrageorge

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Head says it was time to move on from Marcus Smart. But, man, he deserved to be a title winning Celtic. There's a lot of unquantifiable there there that will be difficult to replace. He will be missed.
 
benhogan

benhogan

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This hurts. The Celtics got better tonight BUT I'll definitely watch Grizz games and root for Marcus.

Looking forward to the MARCUS! video reel at TD the first night he returns.
 
Ed Hillel

Ed Hillel

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Dec 12, 2007
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Here
ifmanis5 said:
Losing the top assistant coach will be tough to replace.
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Yeah, I gotta be honest, I think this was a problem. Let’s let our coaches coach (and we have great assistants now) and players play. We don’t need anymore players publicly calling out their rookie coaches to the media.

Also, thank you Marcus (but good trade).
 
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jmcc5400

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Love Marcus. It was a pleasure watching him grow up in the league. He deserved a ring here and a number in the rafters, but life can be cruel. Memphis is going to love him as much as it did Tony Allen.
 
djbayko

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I hope he follows in the footsteps of players like Pedro in his post-Boston career, where it's crystal clear where his heart lies. Because the hearts of Boston fans will always be with this motherfucker.
 
Euclis20

Euclis20

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This fucking sucks. His contract has been in the danger zone for trades for awhile now, but I always assumed his value to the Celtics outweighed his value to the league at large, meaning he'd never be worth it to trade. I'll wake up someday and wonder how we got KP and 2 first round picks for Smart and spare parts, but for now I'm pretty down. It's a crying shame he didn't get a ring with Boston. He leaves as the Celtic with the most games played and 2nd most minutes played (Antoine!) without a title.
 
bankshot1

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Watching that video is bittersweet.

He played right.

On a franchise that hangs a lot of numbers from the rafters his isn't there and may never be.

Damn shame.
 
azsoxpatsfan

azsoxpatsfan

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May 23, 2014
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This sucks. The epitome of heart and hustle, and probably my all time favorite Celtic. I’ll always love Marcus
 
DourDoerr

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Nothing is forever. This doesn't have to be his permanent departure. Down the road, Marcus could come back and hopefully win a title with the C's. I think it's a good time to try a new direction with a new voice. The C's just got a bit softer though as Marcus seemed to be their most hard-nosed player. Thank you Marcus - a pantheon No, no - yes! guy.
 
TripleOT

TripleOT

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If things went a little different the past two seasons, like TL being 100 percent in the Finals, and MB not getting hurt in this year’s ECF, Smart might have had a storied Celtics career as the heart of a championship team.

Instead, he and his potential Celtics legacy is traded in an attempt to finally get the Jays over the hump. It would have been sweet to see Marcus help hoist banner 18,

Smart’s career has always been about sacrifice, and his final sacrifice as a Celtic is as a trade asset. I’d not much of a metrics guy when evaluating players. I do have an extremely subjective one I call the Dark Alley factor, as in “If I had to walk through a dark alley late at night in a bad part of town, would I want this player with me?” Marcus, absolutely. Memphis is getting a flat out dawg.
 
Ale Xander

Ale Xander

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Oct 31, 2013
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I’m going to miss you Marcus more than any Celtics player since maybe Reggie. The Celtics just got less entertaining and heart string pull-worthy.
 
jose melendez

jose melendez

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If Tatum and Brown get rings with the Cs some day, where will Marcus rate in best Cs never to get a ring with the team? Aside from Brown and Tatum, I think the top three are still Ed McCauley, Antoine, and Reggie in some order. Perhaps Smart would be fourth?
 
Eddie Jurak

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Joined a 25-57 Celtic team and made the playoffs in each and every one of his 9 years here.

He was a good handle away from being a multi-year All Star.

He will be missed, but I don't think the offensive fit was there with Tatum and Brown.

But I wish he had gotten to win one here.
 
ZMart100

ZMart100

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I loved watching Marcus here. I felt the C should have come with his last contract.
 
PedroKsBambino

PedroKsBambino

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I really enjoyed Marcus; there's limitations and frustrations and rationally I realize this probably is a wise decision but the player and person are ones I will always root for.

I am bummed he didn't get to win a ring here---he deserved it.
 
P

PRabbit

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Apr 3, 2022
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Frustrating player to watch with his turnovers and bone-headed mistakes, but damn near impossible NOT to root for.
DJnVa said:
And he’s gonna go 6-23 in that game, but draw a charge or pick Brown’s pocket late to seal a win.
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Don't forget the 9 TOs and 1-11 from deep.
 
lexrageorge

lexrageorge

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The Harden game has already been mentioned, so I'll recall another Marcus Smart moment:

https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201711160BOS.html

Marcus Smart had 1 point. And that came on a free throw that was supposed to be a deliberate miss. Also, he got his hand on a Celtics shot that was basically in the rim, so his scoreboard contribution was technically -1 point. However, he was a very *not* misleading +15 during that game.

I recall Red Auerbach discussing KC Jones in an interview. He was a limited player offensively: a 6'1" point guard that shot 39% from the floor. But Red mentioned that every time he was on the floor, good things happened; when he was off, Red would see leads slip away. Got into the HoF due to his defensive prowess, which helped lead to his 8 rings in 9 seasons. Obviously, Marcus was not nearly as accomplished, but, as with KC and Dennis Johnson, good things generally happened when he played. Had he gotten the ball a fraction of a second sooner in Game 4, the Celtics would have taken a 3-1 series lead with his 3-pointer. He made sure to get the shot off in Game 6 in Indiana that led to Derrick White's miraculous put-back.
 
T

themuddychicken

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Mar 26, 2014
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This is a terrible way to wake up. Smart was my favorite Celtic, and I have disliked Porzingis's game for a long time.

That said, just yesterday I told someone that there's something wrong with this Celtics squad and they might never get over the hump, and that I'm ok with that. I'll enjoy watching them lose in the playoffs every year. I respect that Brad isn't ok with it.

I also like first round picks, even late-rounders, something Boston has been short on lately. If the trade was just Smart + 35 for two late firsts I would have understood. Those picks make this a lot less painful.

As much as I love Smart, his entire value was in hustle and defense, and he partly offsets the hustle with bonehead plays and the defense got worse last year and is only going to get worse with age. If you told me that someone committed a stupid reach-in foul with 2 seconds left in the half, sending a good shooter to the line for two free points, there's about a 95% chance it was Marcus.

Whatever. A young team was willing to overpay for a veteran player on the decline and the Celtics cashed in. I'm bummed but I understand.
 
J

Justthetippett

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Aug 9, 2015
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Damn. I went to bed thinking this was a Brogdon deal and losing Smart is a lot harder to swallow. I guess I have to hate the Clippers now?

I see the logic from a talent/tools/fit point of view, but Marcus brought a lot to that locker room. He was easy to root for and I wanted him to spend his next five years here. Hopefully he excels in Memphis and the Jays don't get ruffled by this move.
 
Light-Tower-Power

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djbayko said:
Oh no. This is...depressing. He was supposed to be on the Championship team. He's bled green for years.
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I’m glad he’s gone for basketball reasons, but in my heart this is exactly how I feel. He was supposed to win a title here and it really sucks that it just wasn’t meant to be. Hell, I thought 36 might have been the next number to go up had it happened and he stuck around but clearly it’s not the right fit anymore. Marcus forever though. He gave everything he had to to the Celtics. Sometimes too much.
 
zak1013

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Light-Tower-Power said:
I’m glad he’s gone for basketball reasons, but in my heart this is exactly how I feel. He was supposed to win a title here and it really sucks that it just wasn’t meant to be. Hell, I thought 36 might have been the next number to go up had it happened and he stuck around but clearly it’s not the right fit anymore. Marcus forever though. He gave everything he had to to the Celtics. Sometimes too much.
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100%. I loved him, he drove me crazy, and then I loved him again…generally all in the span of about 5 minutes during a game.
 
Pablo's TB Lover

Pablo's TB Lover

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Farewell Marcus, a Celtics legend for all the moments he gave us.

I feel like his "old man" offensive game will continue to play well for a while into his 30s, but the defense will start to be more obviously in decline like we saw late this year and in the postseason. In some ways, if Memphis defines his role differently and decreases minutes slightly, it could unlock some very good play out of him for another few years. As with many people, it is natural to resist a changed role when you are sitting with the same organization, but easier to accept when changing organizations.
 
sezwho

sezwho

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Ale Xander said:
I’m going to miss you Marcus more than any Celtics player since maybe Reggie. The Celtics just got less entertaining and heart string pull-worthy.
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Yeah, me too. Was hoping it was Brogdon.

Thank you Marcus, for playing the right way and for being a reminder maybe we all have a little more to give out there.
 
K

kfoss99

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I'm glad I'm not a GM. I was saying the Celtics need to get rid of Smart, because I feel White should be the primary PG.

But, now that Smart's gone, I"m really going to miss him. I so very much wanted that core group of guys to win a championship in Boston.

I think he'll be embraced in Memphis like Tony Allen was. He's the rich man's Tony Allen and that should be a beast of a defensive team.

Thank you, Smart, especially, for all he did for cancer patients in Boston.
 
tbrown_01923

tbrown_01923

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Loved watching Marcus leave it on the court. I never doubted his effort or desire to win. Too bad they were unable to raise a banner while he was here.

I am not sold on Brogdon, as he failed to live to my expectation. He seemed selfish (perhaps by design) but his feet seemed slower and his efficacy on defense was a shadow of his early days.
 
wade boggs chicken dinner

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kfoss99 said:
I'm glad I'm not a GM. I was saying the Celtics need to get rid of Smart, because I feel White should be the primary PG.

But, now that Smart's gone, I"m really going to miss him. I so very much wanted that core group of guys to win a championship in Boston.

I think he'll be embraced in Memphis like Tony Allen was. He's the rich man's Tony Allen and that should be a beast of a defensive team.

Thank you, Smart, especially, for all he did for cancer patients in Boston.
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Agree with all of this, particularly the GM part. Marcus really was a prototypical Celtic and it's just too bad he didn't get a ring here. At the end of the day, the Cs have had buzzards' luck with respect to injuries during this last run; it's just too bad that they couldn't get one run with everyone healthy.
 
bigq

bigq

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This sucks. I have so many happy memories of Smart in a Celtics uniform. He played with heart, hustle and love for the game. I really wanted to see him win a championship with the Celtics. I’m not looking forward to letting my 15 year old daughter know that he has been traded. He was her favorite Celtic and she has his poster on her bedroom wall. Thanks for the memories.
 
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