"He did not see that trade coming" - Marcus Smart was kept in dark by Celtics until last minute per NBA Insider

Last night, the Boston Celtics traded away Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies for the 25th pick in the 2023 draft and the Warriors' 2024 top-four-protected-first-round pick. The trade involved the Grizzlies alongside the Washington Wizards in order to acquire Kristaps Porzingis.

On "The Pat McAfee Show," The Athletic's Shams Charania provided an interesting update regarding Marcus Smart and the Celtics.

"Marcus Smart last night, I can tell you for a fact, he did not see that trade coming, until the team [Celtics] notified him maybe 10-15 minutes before," Charania said.

Marcus Smart played nine seasons with the Boston Celtics since he got drafted in the 2014 draft. He is a career-average 10.6 points per game (38.6% shooting, including 32.3% from 3-point range).

Smart was a pivotal piece in changing the culture of the franchise moving forward as Boston was transitioning from the "Big 3" era of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen.

After a disappointing 2022 Finals loss and a 2023 third-round exit, the Celtics front office knew they needed to tweak the roster for a chance to win the championship next year.

However, the Clippers were included in the three-way trade instead of the Grizzlies. The Clippers had concerns about the severity of Malcolm Brogdon's injury, resulting in the trade falling out.

The Celtics and Wizards still had a chance to finish the deal but they had to do so before 12:00 am ET. The Grizzlies were looking for a tough-minded player that can complement their young team's growth in the long run.

With Ja Morant missing the first 25 games of the upcoming season, Marcus Smart is going to be a huge acquisition for the Grizzlies.

The trade does however create some question marks for the Celtics. They did answer frontcourt issues with the acquisition of Porzingis to support both Robert Williams III and Al Horford. However, despite Derrick White's leap in play last season, the team still needs a floor general/facilitator on the roster.

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Looking back on Marcus Smart's comments post-Game 7 loss to the Miami Heat

After a disappointing 103-84 Game 7 loss to the Miami Heat, Smart spoke to the media about what went wrong for the team.

“We just got to continue to put defense first,” Smart said. “We were so bad on offense last year that it was our main focus this year. Unfortunately, our defense took a hit from that. We picked it back up but things happen, with guys inserted into the lineup, taken back out, guys getting hurt."

With Smart's departure from the team this offseason, it does create questions if the defense will decline in the upcoming season. Be that as it may, the offseason is far from over and Porzingis does provide the team with more rim protection and quality spacing.