It’s easy for fans to turn on players who leave for another opportunity to play elsewhere, but Marcus Smart won’t turn his back on Kyrie Irving or Al Horford.
The duo is expected to leave the Celtics once free agency officially begins June 30. And while that has many Green Teamers questioning what Boston will do next and where Horford and Irving ultimately will end up, Smart knows basketball is a business at the end of the day.
“I mean, in today’s game, nothing really catches us by surprise until it catches us by surprise,” Smart told MassLive at his YoungGameChanger camp in Waltham on Tuesday. “To a little bit, it did, but those guys are grown and they have every right to do what they feel is best for not only them and their families and their careers. Regardless of if those guys stay or leave, I have nothing but love for them. Always will. I wish nothing but the best luck for them, whatever they do.”
Smart also noted he was expecting changes to the roster this season, but can’t put too much thought into it because that’s out of his control.
“I expected things to change,” he said. “Significantly or insignificantly wasn’t really a big thing. I wasn’t expecting as big or as little, I just knew something was going to change. I think everyone kind of knew that. Now, what that is, we have no clue. Like I said, you can’t really focus on that. You have to let the guys whose jobs it is to focus on that. You focus on what you can.”
It’s a mystery if Irving and/or Horford will return to Boston, but no matter their next move, it’s clear Smart will support them.
