Marcus Smart Says Goodbye to Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Welcomes Kyrie Irving

Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart rolled out the welcome mat for the newly acquired Kyrie Irving on Wednesday but thanked Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder in the process:

Boston announced it landed Irving in Tuesday's trade while sending Thomas, Crowder, Ante Zizic and the Brooklyn Nets' 2018 first-round pick to its 2017 Eastern Conference Finals opponent, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

That Smart took the time to reach out to Thomas in particular—and called him a big brother—is notable because it comes after Fox Sports' Chris Broussard appeared on Undisputed on Wednesday and said some of the Celtics didn't particularly like the point guard.

Despite Broussard's report, there is evidence suggesting Thomas was well-respected in Boston. Celtics head coach Brad Stevens called Thomas "a great teammate" during a postseason press conference, per Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com. What's more, president of basketball operations Danny Ainge didn't hold back when evaluating what Thomas meant to the team in Boston's trade announcement.

"Isaiah embodied what it meant to be a Celtic," Ainge said. "He captured fans' hearts not only with his spirit, but his personality."

Attention for Smart and the rest of Boston now turns to the opportunity to play alongside Irving as the Celtics look to take the next step into the NBA Finals following last year's series loss to the Cavaliers in five games.

Irving is a four-time All-Star and has played in the most pressure-packed situations the NBA has to offer, notably drilling the winning shot in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. He also scored 29.4 points per game in this year's Finals and helped Cleveland beat Boston with 25.8 points a night in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The new-look Celtics will also have free-agent signee Gordon Hayward and this year's No. 3 overall draft pick, Jayson Tatum, as they look to outlast Cleveland and the rest of the East in 2017-18.