Former Celtics guard Marcus Smart traded by Grizzlies to last-place Wizards
BOSTON -- Former Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart was one of the unluckiest players at the NBA trade deadline on Thursday. Smart was traded from the Memphis Grizzlies -- a team with title aspirations this season -- to the nine-win Washington Wizards.
Smart was traded to the cellar-dwelling Wizards in a swap just ahead of the 3 p.m. deadline, as first reported by ESPN's Shams Charania. Memphis sent a first-round pick to the Wizards along with Smart, while receiving Marvin Bagley III, Johnny Davis, and two second-round picks in return.
In an absolutely crushing blow, Smart goes from the two-seed in the Western Conference to the team with the worst record in the NBA.
The Smart trade was essentially a salary dump for the Grizzlies, who traded for the former Defensive Player of the Year two summers ago. Memphis paid quite a bit to acquire him too, trading Tyus Jones, Marcus Sasser, and a first-round pick in the three-team swap that sent Kristaps Porzingis from Washington to Boston.
The Grizzlies were hoping that Smart would be a defensive-minded, veteran leader to put them over the top in the Western Conference. But injuries kept him from having much of an impact in Memphis, as he played in just 39 games over the last two seasons. He averaged just 11.6 points off 40 percent shooting (and just 31.7 percent from three) to go with 4.0 assists, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game for the Grizzlies.
Now just 18 months later, Memphis simply dumped Smart to save some salary -- and traded away another first-round pick to do so. He is set to make $21 million for the 2025-26 season, the final year of a four-year extension Smart signed while with the Celtics.
Marcus Smart not an option for Celtics if he gets bought out
Smart is unlikely to get bought out by Washington given his price tag for next season. But even if he were to receive a buyout, he wouldn't be an option for the Boston Celtics this season.
While Boston has two open roster spots -- and two weeks to fill one of them -- Smart is making well over the $12.8 million mid-level exception. The Celtics cannot add any player making more than the mid-level exception at the time of their buyout because they're a second-apron team.
Smart and his expiring contract could potentially be dangled in trade talks this offseason. But for now, he'll look to play well for the dreadful Wizards in hopes of potentially finding a new team this summer before hitting free agency the following offseason.
