2023-07-03 10:41:00
This is an event that affected the entire basketball planet ten days ago. After nine seasons in the Celtics jersey, Marcus Smart had to say goodbye to his lifelong team. And if he fully understands his transfer, the leader was disappointed with the way he learned about it.
It’s never fun to leave your honest heart. But it’s even less so when you don’t expect it, and when you even think you’re safe from departure. In an interview with CLNS MediaMarcus Smart shared his feelings about his transfer and how he was informed of it.
“It was shocking to learn it this way, especially since a week before, I had been told that I was safe, that there were no transfer discussions around me. […] I understand it’s a business, but to me it was just being polite [de m’en informer à l’avance].”
Very lucid about the situation of his team and the hard law of the NBA, the leader would nevertheless have liked to be warned that his transfer was in the pipeline. And how can you not understand it when you know that it was through tweets from NBA insiders that Marcus learned of his departure?
“For me, it was simple. [Ils auraient pu m’appeler] : “Hi ! We are thinking about transferring you, we will most certainly do it, just so you know.
As a reminder, the leader was initially not part of the deal allowing the C’s to recover Porzinģis, which certainly explains this lack of communication. Indeed, it was first Malcolm Brogdon who was to be transferred and join the Clippers, initial partners of this three-team trade with Boston and Washington. But the Los Angeles franchise eventually pulled out over sixth man of the year injury concerns, which the Grizzlies, new transfer mates, didn’t want. To complete the deal in a hurry, Brad Stevens therefore had to find a clever solution, a Smart solution. And so it was that the 2022 DPOY, who had fallen asleep peacefully thinking of his secure future in Massachusetts, went to Tennessee.
Here is the final transfer:
???? Marcus Smart to Memphis
???? Tyus Jones + Mike Muscala + Danilo Gallinari in Washington
???? Kristaps Porzingis + 2023 Grizzlies pick 23 + 2024 Warriors pick (top 4 protected) in Boston
Amazing.
— TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) June 22, 2023
Despite the circumstances, we can only regret the actions of the Celtics, repeat offenders of aggravated facts (no, we are not exaggerating at all) of poor communication with their transferred players. Already in 2017, Isaiah Thomas complained about the way his departure was announced to him. The opportunity to remember that the NBA is above all a business, and that it is often the players who pay the price. In an ultra-competitive league where money and business set the tone, the human side and the affect take second place.
We knew Marcus Smart disappointed to leave Boston, and his latest statements only confirm that he still has his transfer in the throat. A very sad end for this love story that marked the NBA for nine years… and which sounds like a good warning for the Blazers, currently negotiating the departure of Damian Lillard.
Source : CLNS Media
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#Celtics #told #transferred