The Boston Celtics have had a quiet offseason in free agency, and they missed out on another potential signing when Marcus Smart reportedly agreed to a two-year, $11 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday. Following the trade of Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers, Boston had a need to fill in the backcourt. They had already lost out on Damian Lillard earlier in the week, as he re-signed with the Trail Blazers after being waived by the Milwaukee Bucks.
Given Smart’s nine-year history with the Celtics, there had been speculation that he could return to Boston if he were bought out by the Washington Wizards. While that buyout appears imminent, the Lakers ultimately secured his services.
Despite missing out on yet another free agent, the Celtics didn’t let it show publicly. Shortly after the news broke about Smart joining the Lakers, the team posted two photos of Baylor Scheierman and Max Shulga on X (formerly Twitter), captioned simply: “All smiles.”
Fans didn’t share the sentiment. Reactions came in swiftly. User
@TruckBon replied, “not smiling rn knowing that Smart just went to the Lakers,” while
@howsyahowya added, “But I wanted Marcus back.” Another user, @CookedbyRiley, echoed the mood with, “I’m not smiling right now admin.”
With Smart off the market, Boston now returns to the drawing board. And while the Celtics couldn’t bring him back, the bigger sting for fans seems to be that he ended up with their longtime rivals in Los Angeles.
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