Marcus Smart on Celtics Trade Rumors: 'I Wasn't Concerned, but I Was Prepared'

Marcus Smart is still a member of the Boston Celtics despite recent trade rumors suggesting interest from other teams, and he spoke after his team's 111-94 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder regarding how he felt leading up to last Thursday's deadline.

"Anytime you hear your name in trade talk, you prepare for the worst and pray for the best," Smart told reporters (h/t A. Sherrod Blakely of Bleacher Report and the Boston Sports Journal).

"It's nothing new. It's a business. But you're human. I wasn't concerned but I was prepared."

Celtics general manager and president of basketball operations Danny Ainge told Smart that other teams were inquiring about him but that Boston was not interested in trading the ex-Oklahoma State star (h/t Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald).

The Atlanta Hawks reportedly expressed interest in Smart, per Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic last Monday. Last January, Brian Robb of MassLive reported that Smart was part of a package the Houston Rockets requested from the C's in a hypothetical James Harden deal.

The C's were also in talks for the Orlando Magic about Aaron Gordon, who went to the Denver Nuggets. However, Murphy reported that Smart was not a subject of those discussions.

Smart is staying in town, though, as the C's clearly see him as part of the solution toward getting Boston out of its rut. Boston is just 23-23 one year after making the Eastern Conference Finals.

The 27-year-old, who entered Saturday averaging 13.1 points, 5.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game, posted eight points and eight dimes in Boston's victory over OKC.