5 key Grizzlies home games on 2023-24 regular season schedule

4. November 19, 2023 vs Boston Celtics

It will be an emotional night for Smart, who spent his first nine seasons playing for the historic Celtics organization.

While he publicly said there are no hard feelings towards his former team, Smart’s initial reaction to the trade was a dead giveaway that he was blindsided.

"“It was a shock,” Smart said via The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn. “My agent called my fiancée and she woke me up out of sleep, literally, right after the deal had been made, and I think [the media] had already tweeted it out. That’s how we found out.”"

What makes things all the more polarizing about his exit is that he was told a week before the trade that he was “safe.”

"“We was expecting [to stay],” Smart said. “But for me, I understand the business side of it. Anybody who knows me knows that I’m the first one to tell people, you can’t put personal with business, it just doesn’t mix. And if you do, you’re going to get yourself hurt. I understand it’s a business.” “But for me, it was just the courtesy. They probably already knew they were thinking about trading me. They had this trade in their back pocket just in case something else didn’t happen. And for me, it’s just the simple fact, ‘Hey, we’re thinking about trading you, most likely we’ll trade you, just letting you know.'”"

With this all in mind, one should expect fireworks during this emotional reunion.