Smart on Brogdon's suitability for the Celtics: "I like him"
BOSTON — Shortly before this month, shortly after the team agreed to sign Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari, Brad Stevens contacted Marcus Smart to discuss the team's new signings. During the conversation, Smart said he and Stevens looked back on the years they had worked together and talked about all the progress the Celtics had made during that time.
"We're just a little bit off," Smart said Tuesday at Emmanuel College, where he watched the YGC team, named after his YounGameChanger Foundation, train to prepare for a basketball tournament, "and we really think Malcolm is a good reinforcement and Danilo can help us through it." ”
Stevens said he consulted with other players on the team "within an hour of the trade." Smart's opinion on Brogdon's addition is probably the most important. He's proud of his success in point guard positions last season. He sees the team's playoff path as a test of his long-standing belief that he can comb through a team's offense at a high level of play. Now, after winning Defensive Player of the Year and leading the Celtics to the Finals, he needs to welcome another veteran guard to the team. The details can be subtle.
But Smart was fully behind the deal.
"I like him," Smart told The Athletic, "it's two experienced guys who can complement each other, can enrich the rotation of the team, help the team in a lot of ways." I think they're going to be a great fit for the team. Together, we will take responsibility for combing the team's offense. We will work together. ”
Smart said he and Brogdon were inextricably linked and had known each other very well over the years. Their relationship is another reason the Celtics believe a trade to Brogdon will improve the team's strength. While Brogdon's technique looks like a good fit for the team, Celtics management understands the potential risks of adding another starting-level guard to the lineup.
League sources told The Athletic magazine that the Celtics asked about Brogdon's performance in the locker room before pulling the trigger on a trade with the Indiana Pacers. The Celtics envisioned his role as a substitute in the team and wanted to assess his reaction to the matter. Brogdon, who has been told he needs to be a substitute in the team, sounds ready to take it.
He's not the only one who needs to adapt. On the backcourt list that includes Derek White and Payton Pritchard, everyone will have less playing time and touchdowns. Gallinari's arrival should affect the team's frontcourt rotation.
"We do have a squad with a deep squad and we need everyone to make a little bit of a sacrifice, which is very important," Stevens said, "but I think everyone here is ready." They got a taste of the finals in June, and we knew exactly what we should do. ”
The depth of the squad may cause some players to have some moments of frustration that need to be sacrificed. Still, Stevens saw a way to improve his team when he was two wins away from the championship. He got Brogdon and Gallinari without affecting last season's regular rotation.
Smart believes the Celtic players will be able to figure out their respective responsibilities.
"I think every team can take advantage of more squad depth," he said, "and a stronger squad depth will help the team." For our young team, which is reaching the Finals for the first time this year, more depth will definitely be needed. But at the same time, it's always good to have more options. We're excited. Any help that helps us achieve our goals, we will accept. ”
Whether physically or otherwise, Smart is still suffering from the Celtics' playoff losses. He said he was injured in the Right Ankle of the Eastern Final, which is still swollen. While his shots in tournament training are always careless, the issue has dragged on for a long time, enough to keep Smart away from tougher basketball training early in the offseason. Asked what he's learned from the Finals, Smart first said the Celtics need to stay healthy.
"But seriously, for us, it's just something we've learned," Smart said, "and it's a lesson for us." No one likes to learn from a tough situation or a failed situation, so it's tough. But this is definitely a lesson. We're playing against a really good, experienced team, they have some really good players and a really good coaching staff, they've been to the Finals a lot, they know how to get to the Finals, so we've learned a lot from them. So we hope we can use what we've learned next season and we'll try to get back to the Finals. ”
Derek White and Marcus Smart. (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
Among other lessons, Smart agreed with Grant Williams that the Celtics needed to show more discipline. Smart also believes the Finals gave the Celtics an understanding of how strong the players need to be mentally and physically at the highest level of basketball.
"We were so anxious that we lost the rhythm we played all year, and in the second half of the season, we relied on that rhythm to become the top team in the East," Smart said. "We went through the difficulties and found a way to win. So we must be more disciplined. When you get to the Finals, there's less room for error. Now we know what we need. Sometimes unfortunately, none of these tricks work when you first get to the Finals. You have to figure out by actually how to play next time. ”
Smart recently sponsored the YGC team, which will be the top seed in the Lark Park Area Basketball Tournament, a winner-take-all game with a $1 million prize money. The roster includes one of his best friends, Trey Davis, who once played for a Celtic G-League affiliate team; There's also Kamari Murphy, one of Smart's teammates at the University of Oklahoma. The big names on the YGC team include Quincy Miller, Ricky Ledo, Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Jared Terrell, all of whom have NBA experience. The team is hosting training camp in Emanuel this week and will begin playing at the famous Lark Park at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Although he spends most of his time as a training spectator, smart, the head of the team, leans down several times to exchange views with the team's coaches during defensive arrangements, which obviously seems to be an instinct that is difficult for him to change.
Smart has already begun to look ahead to the Celtics' upcoming new season. After the disappointment of the finals, he hopes the team can regain the mentality of the second half of last season.
"We need to start the next season that way, really get into rhythm and let it go on," Smart said. "That would really help us." We had to be overly nervous, we put so much effort into it just to get back in shape and make it to the playoffs, let alone the Finals. So when we get into trouble, we have to struggle desperately. We struggled to make it to the playoffs and went through a lot of hard work to get to the finals. So I think it will help prevent us from getting hurt and reduce the wear and tear on our bodies. ”
With similar hopes in mind, Stevens set out to expand the Celtics' roster depth next season without affecting the chemistry of the team last season. The Celtics believe both Brogdon and Gallinari can complement the team and give Amy Uduka more lineup options. While Brogdon played as a point guard for the Pacers, he could hold the ball or play without the ball. His stature and physical fitness allow him to defend players taller than him, like the guy who was going to replace him. While the Celtics intend to put Brogdon on the bench, he and Smart should be playing together for quite some time. Smart period is also waiting for this cooperation.
"We got two talented players," Smart said, "two really good players who have built a good reputation in this league in their own way and are doing their job." Of course, we all know what Malcolm will bring, and we know what Danilo will bring. It's exciting for these guys to join the team. So for me, I'm excited. I'm happy to go to the gym with them and I'm happy to play with them. ”