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Derrick White: ‘There’s only one Marcus Smart’ and Boston has work to do to replace him

Griffin Crest / NBA / June 29, 2023

Derrick White: ‘There’s only one Marcus Smart’ and the C’s have work to do to replace him

The Boston Celtics have moved on from Marcus Smart, shipping him to the Memphis Grizzlies in a blockbuster trade last week. Still, the reality of Smart moving on has been a tough pill to swallow for Celtics players and fans, including Derrick White.

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“The trade has been crazy,” White told NBC Sports Boston. “I’ve got a lot of love and respect and it’s been a privilege to play with Smart. I wish him the best of luck in Memphis. But I’m excited to play with KP, too, so I’m looking forward to that.”

White has been a crucial member of Boston’s squad for the past two seasons, helping the team to back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals. Defensively, White formed a vicious one-two punch with Smart, but that combination is over. Smart won Defensive Player of the Year only two years ago, and White made an All-NBA defensive team with the team, too.

White knows how much Smart’s loss means to the Celtics.

“You can’t replace what Marcus Smart does, on both sides of the ball,” White said. “There’s only one Marcus Smart and he’s special. He was always pushing me and driving me to be better. And he made up for a lot of mistakes that we made last year. It’s going to be a big hole to fill. Everybody’s going to have to step up and try to fill those shoes.”

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Losing Smart is a big fallout for the Celtics, as their number of reliable backcourt options is slowly diminishing. In doing so, this leaves White with a much bigger load on his shoulders.

“We kind of have a lot of guys that handle the ball. But I’ll probably have more of the point guard duties than I did last season,” White said. “I’m just looking forward to the opportunity and I know it’s going to be a big summer ahead of me and I got to do what I need to do to get ready.”

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