Marcus Smart: ‘Boston Loves Me. I Love Boston’

Celtics guard Marcus Smart is thrilled to be returning to Boston on a four-year, $52 million deal.

Smart says, despite his initial disappointment with the negotation this summer, everything worked out.

Smart, 24, considered signing the C’s $6.05 million qualifying offer and becoming an unrestricted free agent next July.

Per the Boston Herald:

“All of my options were open,” he said. “I went back and forth internally. It’s a problem a lot of people would like to have. I definitely had thoughts of taking the qualifying offer.”

But when Smart’s talks with other teams didn’t bear fruit — some raised the possibility of a sign-and-trade arrangement with agent Happy Walters — his attention turned back to the Celtics, who finally came up with a better offer.

“I knew it was going to be tough. I educated myself. I knew it was going to be tough this year,” Smart said of the lack of teams with ample cap space. “But at the same, I knew I was going to be set. I knew I was going to be on a team and I’m glad it’s Boston. Boston is a second home for me.

“This is a business. You can’t get too high or too low on things. For me personally, I enjoyed the experience. Even though it’s frustrating, not many people in this world (have this opportunity). Boston loves me. I love Boston. I’m here. We made it work.

“Boston loves me. I love Boston. Boston wants me to be here. I wanted to be here. I am here.”

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