Marcus Smart has seen a lot throughout his NBA career that has given him a unique perspective on dealing with unplanned changes, such as the surprise deal that sent him from the Memphis Grizzlies to the Washington Wizards at this year's trade deadline.
This marked the second time in two seasons that Smart got shipped out of town as part of a deadline deal. Last season, Smart was included in a multi-team trade that brought Kristaps Porzingis to Boston and landed the former Oklahoma State standout with the up-and-coming Memphis Grizzlies.
This season, Smart found himself moved ahead of the deadline yet again. However, this time around, Smart was sent to one of the league's bottom dwellers rather than a franchise that was supposed to allow him to continue to play meaningful minutes.
As one would expect, this has been tough for the former Celtics fan-favorite to deal with. To his credit, Smart is taking the right approach to all of this and he explained as much during an interview with Brian Robb of MassLive.com.
“Control what I can control,” Smart said, via Robb. “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.”
Whether it is in Washington or somewhere else within the league, Smart knows that he is still more than capable of making contributions to a contender and he plans to do just that when given that chance again.
“I’m one of probably the biggest competitors in this league,” Smart said, via Robb. “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.”
Smart is set to enter the final year of the four-year contract he signed with Boston back in 2022 and the 31-year-old seems as hungry as ever to seize that opportunity whenever it comes.