Smart at peace after trade deadline
When the trade deadline passed last Thursday, Marcus Smart actually could have expended a heavier sigh of relief. But when he heard about the high price the Celtics were asking from suitors, he took comfort in the fact the price was too rich for anyone to bite.
“Danny (Ainge) just told me, ‘We really want you.’ I’ve seen a little bit of what other teams were saying, and what the Celtics were asking in return,” the Celtics guard said yesterday. “That speaks volumes that they valued me pretty high. You definitely have to take that into consideration, and it means a lot.
“I wasn’t too consumed with it, so I really can’t say it was a big relief for me,” said Smart. “I didn’t pay too much attention to it, so I really wasn’t worried about it.”
The result, at least until restricted free agency begins July 1, is peace of mind knowing he’s not going anywhere.
“Definitely. That’s with any player,” he said. “When things are finally set in stone for you, and you know you can go play now, you’re a little more comfortable. That’s what any player around this time wants. Everybody is kind of holding their breath over the next move. When you find out you’re good, it gives you peace of mind.”
Smart’s next step is a return to action following the All-Star break. He won’t play Wednesday night against the Clippers — the last game before the all-star break. Thus far, the laceration on his right hand is healing on schedule.
“Right now we’re planning for after the all-star break, still working, everything is coming along schedule, and just have to wait and see how it heals up,” he said.
Everyone but Ray
Paul Pierce’s guest list for yesterday’s ceremony was predictably impressive, with 2008 alumni Doc Rivers, Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo, Brian Scalabrine, Leon Powe and Cavaliers assistant coach James Posey — the latter on the Cavs bench — looking on. Antoine Walker and Walter McCarty also took seats in the teammate section.
There was brief anticipation that Ray Allen, who Pierce says he made peace with last summer while both were in a celebrity basketball game in China, would make a surprise appearance.
Instead, Allen was in a more predictable location. Just before the ceremony, Allen posted a photo of him and comedian George Lopez on his Instagram account — on a golf course, naturally.
Former mates
Smart feels for the disrupted lives of Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder — the former teammates who were both traded for the second time this season last week: Thomas to the Lakers, and Crowder to Utah.
“I actually was shocked. I played with those guys for so long,” said Smart. “Played with them the last three years, had my first success with them, and I loved those guys like brothers.
“When they left here it was hard, and they go to Cleveland and you feel for them from a personal standpoint. Then they have to pick up and have to move again, and no one wants to do that. They’re going to bounce back and I wish them the best.”
Celtics lore
Rivers, who spoke during the Pierce ceremony, has never seen another place like Boston when it comes to fans bestowing affection on their stars.
“Maybe the Lakers, Montreal in hockey somewhere, but there’s no other place in sports where you would want your number retired,” said the Clippers coach, who returns to Boston for the game Wednesday.
“In basketball I don’t think there’s any other place you could choose where you would want your number retired. It would be with Boston,” he said. “When you’re in the practice facility you see the numbers every day — you see the banners and the numbers. It means something.
“Before I got here I didn’t realize it. You always hear about the Celtics lore, but you didn’t get it if you weren’t in it. Then when you get in it and see guys like Bill Russell come around, and John Havlicek. Tommy Heinsohn meant the most to me because he was very special for me.
“It’s not about them. It really isn’t. It’s all about being a Celtic. There’s no organization, maybe in sports, that has that type of loyalty, and it started with Red (Auerbach).”