Rookie guard Marcus Smart has received nothing but thumbs up since landing with the Boston Celtics earlier this summer. To Danny Ainge, that’s been no surprise.
The Celtics president of basketball operations spoke Thursday in his weekly appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher & Rich” about the overwhelmingly positive pre-draft reviews his No. 1 pick garnered.
“We knew a lot about Marcus’ background,” Ainge said. “With the challenges he had in his young youth, it was pretty impressive what he had become as a young adult. I think that the inspiration he had provided and the example that he had set for so many of his teammates and coaches — I mean, we couldn’t find one person that wasn’t in love with Marcus as a player and as a leader and that wouldn’t have bought stock in Marcus’ future. That’s pretty impressive.”
Ainge was referring to Smart’s rough upbringing in Texas, which the Boston Globe’s Baxter Holmes detailed earlier this week in his excellent profile of the point guard.
On the court, Smart will be thrust into a more prominent role earlier than expected as starting point guard Rajon Rondo recovers from a broken hand.
“I was really frustrated, and I really felt bad for Rajon,” Ainge said of his first thoughts upon getting word of Rondo’s injury. “Because I’ve just seen how hard he’s been working, and I just see what state of mind he’s in and physically where he’s at and what he’s overcome with the ACL. This summer, he put in so much time. I just knew how excited he was for training camp and the beginning of this season. So, that was my first thought — just ‘Oh, man. Just another setback for him.'”
Rondo is the lone legitimate star on a very young Celtics team, and Ainge acknowledged that No. 9’s absence leaves a massive hole in its lineup.
“I think it’s important for us to have Rondo if we want to have any success this year,” he said. “He’s a critical part of our team, obviously.”
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