Grizzlies Have Bold Trade Stance On Marcus Smart Amid Rumors

The 2023-24 NBA season has turned into a disaster for the Memphis Grizzlies, mostly due to injuries, and as a result, some have been wondering if they may make major changes ahead of the Feb. 8 trade deadline.

They already traded center Steven Adams, who hasn’t played in about a year due to a knee injury, to the Houston Rockets for Victor Oladipo and three future second-round draft picks. Now, one of their players whose name has come up in trade rumors is guard Marcus Smart.

Reportedly, several teams, including the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, are interested in trading for Smart. But one NBA insider poured some cold water on those rumors.

“While several clubs — including the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, sources said — have phoned Memphis about obtaining defensive stalwart Marcus Smart, the Grizzlies have shut down any overtures for the veteran guard, sources said,” wrote Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Smart won the Defensive Player of the Year award two seasons ago as a member of the Boston Celtics, and he was surprisingly sent to Memphis this past summer in a three-team deal that landed the Celtics Kristaps Porziņģis. It was thought Smart would give Memphis veteran leadership and playmaking while helping it to overcome Ja Morant‘s 25-game suspension to start the season.

But it won just six of its first 25 games, and Morant played in only nine games before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. As a result, this has legitimately become a lost season for the Grizzlies.

Smart continues to be a strong defender and adequate playmaker, and at age 29, he is in his prime. However, the bone of contention for him has always been his lack of shooting efficiency. He’s hitting just 43.0 percent from the field this season, which is actually a career-high for him.

He has played in just 20 games this season and has been out for about three weeks with a finger injury. He’s expected to miss about six weeks, and that could complicate a team’s efforts to trade for him, if the Grizzlies would actually entertain any offers for him.