It’s been a big summer of change for the Boston Celtics and head coach Joe Mazzulla. The team said goodbye to forward Grant Williams while welcoming in former All-Star Kristaps Porzingis. Perhaps most notably, the Celtics traded away veteran point guard Marcus Smart, ushering in new questions about Boston’s rotation and starting lineup.
Smart played nine seasons with the Celtics, often defying traditional positional norms. More recently, however, he served as the team’s defacto point guard and indeed led the club in assists last year, even with the club’s glut of guard depth. During a brief conversation with reporters after Jaylen Brown’s supermax contract extension signing event, coach Mazzulla spoke about what he expects for the Celtics next season. Specifically, he believes Derrick White will indeed succeed Smart.
