After inking his supermax contract on Wednesday, Jaylen Brown acknowledged that life without Marcus Smart in the Boston Celtics locker room will take some getting used to.
Smart was the longest-tenured Celtic on the roster prior to being traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in June. That title now belongs to Brown, who has played all seven of his NBA seasons with Smart by his side.
It's no secret the two had their disagreements over the years, but Smart made sure to shut down the notion that there was any ill will between them. The veteran guard said he and Brown are "brothers for life," and Brown echoed that sentiment with his remarks on Wednesday.
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"Definitely a lot of big changes. Change isn't always a bad thing," Brown said of the Celtics' summer. "My brother, my teammate, one of my best friends is not on the team anymore. Everybody knows it. I learned so much from Marcus. We butted heads at times, we fought, we did it all. Put each other in headlocks, etc. This journey won't feel the same without him, to be honest. But it's a part of life.
"Everything that he's instilled in this organization, everything he's instilled into this community is still going to be with us. So we're going to wish him well in his new journey. Obviously, the city of Boston is going to feel the loss of his impact, but we'll be able to keep moving forward."
The C's parted ways with Smart in order to acquire big man Kristaps Porzingis from the Washington Wizards in the three-team deal. Although it hurt to see Smart go, Brown shared an optimistic outlook on adding Porzingis to the mix.
With Smart out of the picture, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla confirmed Derrick White will be the team's starting point guard in 2023-24. Malcolm Brogdon and Payton Pritchard remain on the roster as guard depth off the bench.
You can watch Brown's press conference in its entirety below:
