WASHINGTON — Marcus Smart’s new teammates didn’t waste any time. Less than 24 hours after Smart’s trade from the Memphis Grizzlies to the Washington Wizards became official, youngsters Bilal Coulibaly and Bub Carrington peppered him with questions about how to become better defenders.
On Feb. 7, during the Wizards’ first game following their flurry of moves at the NBA trade deadline, Coulibaly sought advice about how he should approach his challenging defensive assignment that night: guarding Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell. Carrington welcomed any suggestions about how to slow another key Cavaliers player, Darius Garland.
Smart, a former NBA Defensive Player of the Year, happily obliged. Even though the Wizards lost the game to the Eastern Conference-leading Cavaliers, 134-124, Coulibaly and Carrington sounded ecstatic to have Smart, along with his decade’s worth of knowledge, on the Wizards’ roster.
“Myself and the Wizards want me to really solidify myself on the defensive end, and (with Marcus) that’s someone who has solidified himself on the defensive end since he walked in the league,” Carrington told The Athletic after the final buzzer. “He’s really good at it, really crafty at it. So I definitely, from day one, just want to pick his brain and just make my life easier on making other guys’ lives terrible.”
The Wizards’ primary motivation in trading for Smart and, in a separate move, for former Milwaukee Bucks All-Star Khris Middleton, was to add to their stockpile of future first-round draft picks and to bring aboard promising young talent. But it’s no coincidence that the Washington front office also made certain to bring aboard highly respected, hard-nosed veterans in the process, all the better to provide positive examples for the first- and second-year players already on the roster. Smart, 30, and Middleton, 33, remain effective players when healthy, but they also will assume the roles of elder statesmen. How much Smart and Middleton will help Washington’s youngest players improve will be one of the team’s key storylines over its remaining 28 games.
Smart knows firsthand how important veteran players can be to young teammates. As a Boston Celtics rookie during the 2014-15 season, he learned from Rajon Rondo, Jameer Nelson and Brandon Bass even though Rondo and Nelson spent relatively little time that season on the Celtics’ roster. Smart recalled that Rondo, Nelson and Bass advised him to carve out a niche other than offense — a special skill that would motivate coaches to keep him on the court.
“I think this league has lost those type of guys,” Smart said. “I think there (are) not as many left like that, and those guys are big. The vets are key. The vets, they’re the ones that the young guys see when they first come in. … So I think having vets like me who love to teach, who love to see guys get better, is definitely important.”
Smart has made defense and all-out effort his calling cards throughout his 11 NBA seasons. He was named the 2021-22 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first guard to win the award since Gary Payton in the 1995-96 season.
Coulibaly, a second-year wing who almost always is assigned to guard opponents’ top perimeter scorers, had played against Smart only once before Smart’s trade to Washington. But Coulibaly discovered that Smart had earned his reputation as one of the most rugged point-of-attack defenders in recent league history.
“He’s a DPOY,” Coulibaly said, smiling. “I’m trying to get one of those (awards) at some point. So, yeah, I respect him. He’s really, really strong, really tough. I remember some (center) trying to post him up. He wasn’t moving.”
In 2022, Smart reached the NBA Finals, with his Celtics falling to the Golden State Warriors in six games. That finals appearance burnishes his résumé.
Middleton, a three-time All-Star, won an NBA title as a critical member of the 2020-21 Bucks and an Olympic gold medal with the U.S. men’s team in 2021.
Khris Middleton is in his 13th NBA season (Chris Nicoll / Imagn Images)
Both Smart and Middleton participated fully in the Wizards’ practice Wednesday night, marking the first time they’ve practiced with their new team. Coach Brian Keefe was noncommittal about whether Smart and Middleton will play Friday when the Wizards host the Bucks.
Asked what he wants Wizards fans to know about himself, Middleton answered, “I’m here to be a basketball player. I’m here to win games, here to help win games however I can. I am going to be here as a mentor and whatnot, but I want Wizards fans to know that I’m not here just to be a mentor. I’m here to be a basketball player and compete out there and help win games.”
Jordan Poole has played against Middleton and Smart often, but already the dynamics have shifted from opponent to teammate. During Washington’s game on Feb. 8 against the Atlanta Hawks, Smart gave Poole advice on defensive positioning.
“He has the utmost respect being a Defensive Player of the Year,” Poole said. “So I’ve had my fair share of Marcus guarding me on the other side, and it’s pretty cool to have him on our team. I want to pick his brain a little bit, ask him questions, see how he guards, see the way he sees the game.
“But I think it’s also good with our group because it gets to help Bilal, it gets to help Kyshawn (George), it gets to help Bub being able to just learn from a Defensive Player of the Year who’s played in the finals, who played high-level basketball, who is a real vet in this league. Great move. Great move. (I’m) really excited, really excited just for that. And honestly, I just can’t wait to get out there and play on the court with him. His energy, his toughness and his winning mentality — I think that’s something that we can all vibe off of and learn from, for sure.”
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(Top photo of Marcus Smart: Petre Thomas / Imagn Images)
