Marcus Smart’s wedding, after being traded to the Grizzlies, brings Jayson Tatum together with past and present coaches.
Marcus Smart, a former Boston Celtics player, married and invited his old colleagues to the wedding. Despite being sold to the Memphis Grizzlies earlier this summer, Smart looks to be on good terms with his Boston teammates.
Even more startling was the presence of Brad Stevens, the Celtics’ current President of Basketball Operations, who was in charge of Smart’s trade.
Nonetheless, Marcus Smart’s wedding was a memorable occasion for the Celtics, particularly Jayson Tatum. An X user recently shared a photo of Tatum at Smart’s wedding with his new coach, Joe Mazzulla, and his previous coach, Brad Stevens. Based on the images, they all had a great time, particularly Tatum.
According to Joey Linn of Sports Illustrated, Brad Stevens, President of the Boston Celtics, addressed the reasons for dealing Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies in a recent talk with WEEI Boston Sports Original. Stevens’ primary motivation was to create an atmosphere in which Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown could further develop their leadership abilities.
Nonetheless, Marcus Smart’s wedding was a memorable occasion for the Celtics, particularly Jayson Tatum. An X user recently shared a photo of Tatum at Smart’s wedding with his new coach, Joe Mazzulla, and his previous coach, Brad Stevens. Based on the images, they all had a great time, particularly Tatum.
“Very obviously, we need Jayson and Jaylen to continue to grow in that area,” Stevens said. “We believe they are among the best there can be.” We need them to step up, but others will get the chance.”
“Anytime you have someone who has played such a large role and has such a large personality, there are opportunities for others to step in.” [Smart] is a good one, and we’ll miss him. He’s also a good community member.”
Stevens also said that Smart’s trade would open up opportunities for other guards. Stevens highlighted a problem the Celtics encountered the previous season: a roster imbalance. He saw they often had greater depth in their guard positions than in their frontcourt.
While Stevens praised the efforts of veterans such as Al Horford, Blake Griffin, and Luke Kornet, who stepped up in Robert Williams’ absence, he admitted it was a tremendous responsibility to bear on those guys. He indicated this was a major reason for the decision to trade Marcus Smart for Kristaps Porzingis.
Despite his appreciation for Smart’s services to the Celtics, Stevens said that the trade was motivated mostly by the need to remedy a particular positional mismatch.
