Celtics' Jayson Tatum Thanks Marcus Smart on IG, Says They'll Win NBA Title Together

After veteran point guard Marcus Smart was traded from the Boston Celtics to the Memphis Grizzlies, his friend and now-former teammate Jayson Tatum said goodbye with a kind message on social media.

Tatum thanked Smart in his Instagram story and expressed a desire to team up again in the future to win an NBA championship together, saying, "We gone link back up one day and get us one no doubt about that!"

Smart was sent to Memphis as part of a three-team deal that sent Kristaps Porzingis to Boston from the Washington Wizards. The move caught him off-guard, as the Boston Globe's Adam Himmelsbach reported Thursday that he was "completely shocked" by the trade because a source said "he wanted to retire" with the Celtics, who drafted him sixth overall in 2014.

The Celtics have made it to at least the Eastern Conference Finals in five out of the last seven seasons, with a trip to the NBA Finals in 2022. However, the storied franchise hasn't been able to win a championship since 2008.

Losing Smart will take some getting used to in Boston, but Tatum's presence will help maintain the team's status as a perennial title contender.