Marcus Smart's camp on new deal: 'I think it's a good contract for both parties'

Marcus Smart is officially back as a Celtic and all parties involved couldn’t be more enthused about the end result and the season that lies ahead. Danny Ainge and Smart were scheduled to talk with the media on Thursday afternoon to discuss the four-year, $52 million deal but that media appearance was postponed after Smart fell ill with a stomach bug while going through his physical with team doctors at a nearby hospital.

BostonSportsJournal.com caught up with Smart’s agent Happy Walters on Thursday to get an update on Smart’s condition and full reaction from the point guard’s camp after coming to terms on a deal.

“Marcus is really happy,” Walters told BSJ. “It’s the only team he’s ever been with. He wanted to get a deal that he felt was reasonable. I think it’s a good contract for both parties. It’s certainly a tradeable contract if it ever needs to be. Hopefully, it won’t be. Marcus feels really good about it and is excited. Danny and Wyc made the extra effort to get it done and go into the tax. I think everyone appreciates it.”

The signing was made official on Thursday morning, at which point Smart headed to a local hospital with team doctors for the physical. From there, Smart starting feeling under the weather

“From what I understand, he was doing a treadmill test and threw up everywhere,” Walters explained. “I think he got the 24-hour flu or something. He got in kind of late (Wednesday) night and went to bed. This morning, he was feeling kind of so-so but excited with the adrenaline. Then, once he started doing the treadmill test, he got sick.”

The team elected to keep Smart at the hospital for treatment with IV fluids and hope to finish the physical on Friday. It was unfortunate timing for the 24-year-old on an otherwise positive day. Despite a lengthy free agency process that made Smart one of the last premier names left on the open market this week, both sides were determined to find some common ground to keep the point guard in Boston.

“I don’t think it was about the market,” Walters said. “I think that when Danny saw Marcus and reached out to him, I thought that went a long way. We were just figuring out what we could do that could work for the team and work for Marcus. That’s was really all it took. Fans were really into getting him back. I think several (players) kept texting him. Coach kept texting him. He had a lot of support. Everyone wanted it to happen. When people want it to happen, there is always a way to make it happen.”

Smart, 24, scored 10.2 points last season and posted a career-high 4.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 29.9 minutes per game. The Celtics allowed just 99.5 points per 100 possessions with him on the court (3rd among guards in the NBA that played starter level minutes).

“Keeping Marcus in a Celtics uniform was a top priority, and we’re excited to have accomplished that,” Danny Ainge said in a team release. “His intensity is unmatched, and the level of toughness that he brings to the team throughout the course of the entire season is second to none.”