Smart has future in perspective
WALTHAM — Marcus Smart reiterated his affection for the Celtics and his desire to still be here when the free agency music stops. But, with his mother fighting cancer back home in Texas, it’s understandable that his mind is largely elsewhere.
“Man, this summer has been hectic for me,” Smart said before getting to work yesterday with the attendees at his Young Game Changers camp at Brandeis. “I’ve been dealing with a lot of personal issues so I’ve been running around. But, for the most part, my summer is good. I get to come back here and do this camp with these kids and see their faces, so I’m good.”
Asked directly if he sees himself as a Celtic next season, he said, “To be honest, I do. I haven’t really put too much thought into the offseason free agency thing. My No. 1 focus is on my family right now. I got a lot of stuff going on with my mom. Right now she needs all the positive thinking and brain capacity that we can give her. That’s what my mental focus is right now. So I really haven’t even given a thought about free agency. It’s the last of my concerns right now. There’s more important things than basketball.”
Smart said his mom is “doing good. She’s hanging in there. Some complications came. She found out now she has new kidney stones in the only kidney she has left, so she’s dealing with that. She lost her ability to walk from the chemo, so she has to have 24-hour assistance with getting her out of the car and into bed, shower, things like that. But her spirits are up, and that’s all you can ask for.”
In light of all that, Smart has a very good perspective on his summer situation. He is a restricted free agent, meaning that if he and the Celtics don’t work out a new deal before he surveys the market, the club can match any offer he gets. And while the big free agent gold rush of a couple years back may be over, Smart knows he’ll do just fine.
“I mean, I’m 24 years old, the first one in my family to graduate from college, and we’re sitting here talking about possible teams that’s going to pay me,” he said. “That’s a good thing to have. That’s a good argument to have. So, even though it’s out of your hands, either way, whatever happens, we’re in good hands. That’s how you’ve got to look at it. It’s a blessing in either way you look at it.”
On the question of whether the Celtics would match a big offer, Smart said, “I have no clue. You’ve got to ask Danny (Ainge). That’s those guys’ job. Like I said, I really haven’t thought about any of that. Like, it hasn’t even crossed my mind. It’s all on Danny and those guys.”
And while there has been talk that he would be a good fit with one of the Texas teams, Smart said location, even under the circumstances with his mother, won’t necessarily be a factor.
“No, that doesn’t weigh in,” he said. “Wherever I go, if that’s here or wherever that’s at, my mom’s going to be ecstatic. She’s going to support me, although being away from her is hard. But she understands.”
And by now, Camellia Smart understands her son’s Boston bond. Asked to encapsulate his career here, Marcus said, “Ooh, memorable. Just memorable. You know, I could go on and on about the memories that I have here, the guys here and this organization. It’s unbelievable. This is one of the best organizations to be a part of.”
Even if that means he’s regularly been part of trade talk and the like.
“There’s a free agency every year,” he said. “There’s a draft every year. So this happens every year. It’s no different. You just can’t worry about those things. You let the guys that’s supposed to handle it handle it, and everything else will fall into place.”
Here at his camp, Smart looked very much in place. He clearly loves working with the kids.
“Boston’s like a second home for me,” he said. “Boston’s just showed me so much love in my years, since Year 1. You always want to give back to a city that shows you love, because it’s hard to find people, things, anything that really cares about you and you care about it, and it’s genuine. Boston is a genuine place that cares about people.”
And Smart cares too much about his young campers to teach his entire game.
When imparting the Marcus mentality was brought up, Smart smiled and said, “Ah, man, I don’t know. You don’t want to cross that line and really scare the kids so you’ve got to dial it down a little bit. But it’s still there. The kids love it. They just love being out here and they love playing. They love that dog and they love playing and competing. So that’s all you can ask.”
And no floor-diving clinic either.
“No more diving for me until next season,” said Smart, who suffered a major thumb injury on such a play in March. “I’m not diving anytime soon.”
The next time he does, he’d like it to be in a Celtic uniform.