**Marcus Smart**‘s disappointing year-and-a-half with the Grizzlies ended with a trade to Washington in February, and he’s not surprised by the chaos the franchise has undergone since he left. In an interview with Josue Pavon of ClutchPoints, Smart said there were clear indications that a breakdown was coming.
The 31-year-old guard signed a two-year deal with the Lakers during the offseason and looks more like his old self as a starter for one of the best teams in the league. He’s happy to be back with a glamour franchise and away from the dysfunction that Memphis has endured over the past several months.
“Way better. You see what’s going on now,” Smart said. “That started with me. I came back from injury, and I got traded because they said I didn’t want to be there. I’m injured. What do you mean, I don’t want to be here? I’m here every day working my a** off, cheering. I’m the only one on the bench coaching, but you know how it is. Control what you can control.”
Smart only appeared in 19 games with the Grizzlies last year — and 39 total during his time with the franchise — before being shipped to the Wizards. A few weeks after he left, the team fired head coach Taylor Jenkins with nine games left in the regular season, replacing him with assistant Tuomas Iisalo, and was swept out of the playoffs in the first round.
This season is off to a disastrous start as Memphis fell to 4-10 after losing Saturday in Cleveland. Iisalo’s unorthodox substitution patterns haven’t been popular with players, and they led to a rift with star guard Ja Morant that resulted in a one-game suspension.
Although his time in Memphis didn’t work out well, Smart stated that he doesn’t harbor any animosity toward the organization.
“I wish nothing but the best for them. Those guys — they work their a** off,” he added. “But you could definitely see this coming, and now, this is what you get.”
The Grizzlies were among the top teams in the West for most of last season and were still in the race to host a playoff series when Jenkins was dismissed. However, they stumbled down the stretch and finished as the No. 8 seed, which required them to go through the play-in tournament. They lost to Golden State before beating Dallas to claim the West’s final playoff spot.
Smart said there were plenty of warning signs before he was traded that things were about to go badly.
*“You could see it. Even when I was there, me and (current Lakers teammate) Jake (LaRavia),”* he said. “You could see just how they were handling things, going about things. And it’s unfortunate — you’ve got some good talent over there. It’s unfortunate. Hopefully, they can get it together.”