Marcus Smart's nine-year stint with the Boston Celtics is over. In a three-team trade that netted Kristaps Porzingis and draft picks, the Celtics traded their longest-tenured player and their emotional leader to the Memphis Grizzlies.

After the trade was made official, Smart issued a long goodbye to the Celtics and stated his excitement to get to work with the Grizzlies. “Goodbyes are hard,” the 29-year-old guard said. “But the future is exciting.”

“Where do I even begin…as I start to think about the last 9 years I have a lot of emotions running thru me,” Smart said. “I came to Boston as a naive kid from Dallas not really knowing what to expect. All I knew was the type of work ethic my momma instilled in me and I was going to work my a** off and make sure I EARNED the respect of each and every one of the fans in Boston.

“Which is why this was tuff,” the former Celtics star continued. “Boston, you are a very special place to me. I grew up here and met some of my best friends here. I'll never forget my time here. Ultimately we didn't get that 18th banner but I'm VERY VERY proud of the success we had. I'm going to miss so many things about Boston but mainly my teammates, fans, and kids and our hospital charity work.”

Marcus Smart was drafted by the Celtics with the sixth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. The roster around has gone through whirlwinds of change but has still made the playoffs each time. From the Isaiah Thomas-led teams to the attempts to build around Kyrie Irving and Kemba Walker to making the NBA Finals in 2022, Smart was there for it all. He played defense with non-stop energy, dove for loose balls, flopped like a fish, hit some big shots, took some brutal ones and in the end, he always gave everything he had and earned the respect of everyone in Boston.

“It was a great 9 years Boston, thank you for all the love…but now it's time to look forward,” Marcus Smart said. “I can't wait to get to Memphis and get started. We have something special brewing here! Am blessed to be a part of Grizzly nation. Let's get to work.”