Marcus Smart reacts to Celtics’ championship win

During his nine season with the Boston Celtics, Marcus Smart was referred to at times as the 'heart and soul' of the team. At the same time, others questioned if his style of play was one of the main factors holding the Celtics back from winning a title.

Takes aside, Smart became engrained in Celtics culture during his time in Boston. The sixth-overall pick in 2014, his selection marked the beginning of the post-Big Three era rebuild. By the fall of 2017 he was the longest-tenured active member of the team, until he was traded away this past summer in a deal that netted the Celtics Kristaps Porzingis.

That left Smart on the outside looking in as the Celtics finally captured the elusive 18th championship in franchise history last week, beating the Dallas Mavericks in a five-game series. While some former Celtics did attend the clinching game, Smart did not.

However, Smart did speak about his view of the championship on a recent episode of the Run Your Race podcast. Specifically, he touched on the duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who along with him were key members of the Celtics teams that started making near-annual runs to the Eastern Conference Finals starting in 2017.

It was great, man, to to see those two guys come in the way they came in and just - dominated. When they stepped on the floor you was like, 'we gotta watch out,' Smart said of Tatum and Brown, who were drafted in 2017 and 2016, respectively.

"Those guys, they came in, and there was no stopping them from the start. We seen that and we noticed it. And that's why they are where they at now. Shout out to Jaylen, Jayson and the Boston Celtics. Congratulations on the championship," Smart continued.

"They built that. They went through the mud. They didn't skip any steps. I was there with them for nine years out of my career, and I seen it," he continued. "It's no coincidence that they reached their goal now, and I'm just so proud of them. I'm proud to be able to be in the trenches with them, to know those guys and to be able to go to work with them every day that I had that chance to do."

Because of that, Smart said he was not just proud but also happy to see the Celtics lift the Larry O'Brien Trophy last week.

"I know everybody's expecting me be up here and be salty shit…[but] there's no hard feelings for me," Smart said. "Don't get it twisted. It's definitely a bittersweet feeling. It's definitely tough because, like I said, I was in the trenches with them. So, to be able not to finish what you started with those guys is definitely tough. But man, s--t, my wife will tell you I was screaming for those guys when they won it just as much as anybody else. Because, like I said, I have love for those guys and I know the work that they put in."

Meanwhile, Marcus Smart himself will look to have a bounce-back year in 2024-2025. Smart was with the Memphis Grizzlies last season - his first away from Boston - and played in just 20 games due to injury. Among the games he missed was the Grizzlies matchup with the Celtics at TD Garden, but he was in attendance and did get an ovation from the fans.

Keep scrolling for more on the Celtics...

Celtics President of Basketball Ops Brad Stevens just got his team to the summit, but he still has work to do if he wants to stay there.

The entire main roster will remain intact for the 2024-25 season, if Stevens stands pat on what he has. But there's at least one, if not two major contract extensions to get done, and even the defending champions could use some reinforcements or tweaks to the formula. Stevens also has the draft and some possible coaching moves to consider.

Stevens has proven to be a forward thinker who is unafraid to make bold moves, so another active summer can't be ruled out. But even if Stevens stands pat with all his primary pieces, he'll still have some key tasks on his plate that Celtics fans should familiarize themselves with before the next few months unfold.

Here's a look at seven things for Stevens to work on in the off-season...

The C's made Jaylen Brown the highest-paid player in NBA history last summer. One year later, they're about to do it again with Jayson Tatum.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Tatum is expected to be offered the richest contract in NBA history this off-season. That would be a five-year deal worth $315 million, or $63 million per season. It'll be the most expensive no-brainer ever.

This is sort of an obvious one - they aren't going to walk away from Tatum now. Re-up and go for multiple championships, with Tatum and Brown leading the way in the prime of their careers. It's just a matter of when the deal is finalized.

White reportedly wants to stay in Boston long-term, so this will be another contractual task for Stevens, and a less obvious one than Tatum.

For some teams, signing a player to a supermax and having the two biggest contracts in the NBA might preclude them from continuing to spend exorbitantly on the pieces around them. But Celtics majority owner Wyc Grousbeck has shown a willingness to pay the luxury tax, and it appears that he will simply continue to do so. You know, for the banners.

White is signed through the 2024-25 season at just over $20 million. A new extension could pay him closer to the range of his teammate, Jrue Holiday, who is on the books for $33.6 million.

When Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford are both healthy and available, the Celtics have a formidable frontcourt. Unfortunately, Porzingis has had enough injury-shortened seasons to prove that he can't be relied upon to be healthy by the end of the season, and Horford turned 38 years old earlier this month.

So, it would behoove Stevens to add another big that can play legitimate minutes - that is, unless he wants to retain Luke Kornet, or the undersized Xavier Tillman. But preferably, someone with the appropriate size. To find a two-way threat at that spot would be to discover a unicorn, which Stevens already did with Porzingis.

Despite Porzinzgis' skills at both ends of the court, the Celtics missed his rim protection more than his shooting when he was out. They may want to lean that way for a new addition, whether it's a free agent or a trade acquisition.

The aforementioned big man would be part of what may be a prudent plan for the C's to build themselves a legit bench, so they wouldn't have to rely so much on their top 5-7 players throughout the season. Their depth was tested during the playoffs when Porzingis went down, and while they passed with flying colors, it may not be sustainable going forward to have limited depth beyond their starters.

As detailed earlier, it would also help them preserve their aging/injury-prone bigs for the long haul if they had more frontcourt players that they could play for extended minutes and exercise some good-old-fashioned load management.

The Celtics have a club option for $2 million on Hauser, who is coming off a solid season as a sharpshooting reserve wing who gives a good, honest effort on the defensive end of the floor. He's a solid fit and should be considered for a long-term deal.

It may be best for both sides to simply forego the club option and iron out a new contract. Hauser has grown into a valuable bench piece, especially after performing reasonably well in the playoffs.

Stevens traded away so, so many draft picks to make this roster happen. Now, it's not the worst idea to start using those picks again, especially the 30th pick in the first round of next week's NBA Draft. The Celtics haven't drafted in the first round since 2020, when they selected Aaron Nesmith, Payton Pritchard, and Desmond Bane (good haul!).

Stevens apparently was ready to get right back to draft scouting after the Celtics won the championship, so he appears ready to make his first selection in the first round since becoming president of basketball ops.

The Celtics are already losing Charles Lee and Jeff Van Gundy off Joe Mazzulla's staff, and assistant Sam Cassell could possibly find a new gig after a championship run. So, Stevens is going to have to find new assistants to add under Mazzulla.

It'll be interesting to see the Celtics' approach this time, with Mazzulla a year older, having shown real growth as a head coach in the 2023-24 season. Perhaps they won't need to flood the staff with veteran assistants this time.

Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.