BOSTON — Marcus Smart watched from the sidelines Sunday night as his undermanned new team were dominated by the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. The ugly loss comes as no surprise for a tanking Wizards squad that benched eight roster players in the 124-90 defeat but it certainly showed just how much life has changed for the former Celtics guard in two short years.
Smart was supposed to be playing meaningful basketball even after the Celtics dealt him away in June 2023 as part of a three-team trade for Kristaps Porzingis. Memphis was an up and coming squad with big goals after looking like a young upstart in the Western Conference to begin the decade.
However, injuries decimated the team last year as Memphis floundered to the lottery as Smart and other key players watched from the sidelines. The injuries continued for Smart in the first half of the season in Memphis as younger and cheaper talent took bigger roles in the backcourt. Suddenly, the 31-year-old became expendable, with Memphis dealing him to the rebuilding Wizards in a salary dump.
Smart is trying to make the best out of a bad situation for himself but it was evident on Sunday night how tough the last two years have been since the Celtics moved on from him.
“Control what I can control,” Smart said. “That’s been my motto, and that’s kind of how it’s going to stand. These last couple years, you’ve seen things that you probably didn’t expect to see, you experienced things that you probably didn’t expect to experience, and it kind of brings things to the surface for you. You’ve just got to control what you can control.”
Smart is doing his best at trying to maximize his situation in the moment. He’s put up good numbers in Washington as he’s gotten healthy. Washington is clearly tanking and prioritizing youth over him but he’s still shooting 39 percent from 3-point range over his 15 appearances. He’s also embracing being a mentor to the Wizards’ young talent.
“They’re calling me unc and things like that,” Smart said. “I ain’t ready for that. But it’s great. It’s a great group of young guys here, and the thing that I love about them is they’re ready to learn and they’re willing to learn.
“They’re constantly asking me questions, constantly asking me to demonstrate things, and that’s what you ask for. As a competitor, as a player yourself, when guys come up to you, that’s a great feeling. It allows you to see that what you’re doing and the impact that you’ve made hasn’t gone unnoticed, and keep doing it. So I was very excited.”
Despite being a good solider for now, it’s evident that Smart has a different vision for his future with one year remaining on his contract after this season.
“I’m one of probably the biggest competitors in this league,” Smart said. “As long as I’m able to be out there, I want to be out there and I’m going to be out there. Where, when, how – that’s not in my control. All I can do is control my preparation and be prepared for whatever is thrown at me. So obviously I would like to get back to that play of racking up those minutes and really getting out there with those guys, but like I said, control what I can control.”
It will be fascinating to see how the Wizards handle his situation this summer. The young team brought in a couple mentors in Smart and Khris Middleton who could also be sold as potential upgrades to playoff teams this summer. Smart may be overpaid at $21.5 million at this stage of his career but he’s still capable of helping good teams in a secondary role. It’s evident he wants a team to take that gamble. Whether he gets his wish will be a development worth watching this summer.
