Memphis Trades Tyus Jones to Washington and Sends Draft Rights to Marcus Sasser and Future First Round Pick to Boston
Memphis, Tenn. – The Memphis Grizzlies today announced that the team acquired guard Marcus Smart from the Boston Celtics in a three-team trade also including the Washington Wizards. As part of the deal, the Grizzlies traded guard Tyus Jones to the Wizards and traded the draft rights to guard Marcus Sasser (25th overall) and a future first round draft pick to the Celtics. Washington traded center Kristaps Porzingis to Boston for forward Danilo Gallinari, center Mike Muscala and the draft rights to forward Julian Phillips (35th overall).
A nine-year NBA veteran, Smart (6-3, 220) has competed in 581 regular season games (360 starts) and has averaged 10.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.6 steals in 30.0 minutes since he was selected by the Celtics with the sixth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft out of Oklahoma State. The 29-year-old Texas native holds career playoff averages of 12.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.3 steals in 33.1 minutes in 108 games (73 starts), helping the Celtics make three trips to the conference finals and advance to the 2022 NBA Finals.
Smart was named the 2021-22 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first guard to earn the honor since Gary Payton in 1996, and his pairing with 2022-23 NBA DPOY Jaren Jackson Jr. will mark the first instance in NBA history that the two most recent winners of the award will play for the same team. Smart also has been selected to the NBA All-Defensive First Team three times (2018-19, 2019-20, 2021-22) and is a three-time and reigning winner of the NBA Hustle Award (2018-19, 2021-22, 2022-23).
Jones (6-0, 196) appeared in 288 games (60 starts) in four seasons with the Grizzlies and averaged 8.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 20.6 minutes. The 27-year-old Minnesota native has played 535 regular season games (94 starts) and has averaged 6.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 19.3 minutes over his eight-year NBA career with the Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves since he was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 24th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.