Despite establishing himself as a key cog for the Boston Celtics this season, Marcus Smart still saw his name thrown around in trade rumors prior to Thursday's deadline.
According to Smart, this is something that is no longer new to him:
“I've been here seven years,” Smart said, via Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports. “My name is mentioned in trade talks every year. You prepare for the worst, and hope for the best. But I wasn't really concerned.”
Fair enough.
Smart has emerged as an important player for Boston, and his leadership both on and off the court has proven to be one of his biggest assets as a player. Nevertheless, this has never earned him untouchable status.
As he said in his statement above, this is certainly not the first time Smart has been rumored to be on his way out of Boston. The Celtics seem to consider him to be a valuable trading chip, but as it is, he is still repping the colors of Boston.
This just goes to show how professional Smart is. He's not taking any of these personally — or at least it seems that he hasn't. He just keeps his head down and carries on with what the team requires of him.
Smart may not be the best basketball player on the team, but he is an undeniably vital part of the squad's core. The people of Boston have grown to love Smart, and should that day come, they would be sad to see him go.
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