Celtics Player Candidly Shares Feelings About Marcus Smart Trade

Celtics players were forced to say goodbye to the heart and soul of their locker room earlier this month.

After nine seasons in Boston, Marcus Smart was traded by the organization in a three-team deal that reportedly “blindsided” the veteran guard himself. Smart now has a new home in Memphis, while the Celtics are tasked with replacing a player who was a difference-maker both on and off the court.

Grant Williams played alongside Smart for nearly half of the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year’s Boston tenure, so it’s easy to understand why the trade was tough to digest for the 24-year-old.

“It’s something that definitely hurts a little bit,” Williams told reporters Tuesday, per The Athletic. “Just because you’ve been with somebody for so long, and he’s a phenomenal person, phenomenal teammate, and plays with the most heart and passion of anyone across this entire organization and the league.

“He’s a true Celtic. So losing that is definitely going to hurt. But we’ve got to wish him luck and pray for him along the way.”

Ironically enough, Smart’s departure could prove to play a hand in Williams’ own Boston exit. The Celtics acquired Kristaps Porzingis in the blockbuster trade, and the arrival of the 7-foot-3 center very well could spell the end of Williams’ time on Causeway Street.