SAD NEWS: the Boston Celtics boys are in serious tears today due to the…..

were prepared several months ahead of time. Long before the Miami Heat defeated the Boston Celtics 3-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals, only for the latter team to lose Game 7 at home. Long before the front office of the team had to assess yet another unsatisfactory season that came agonisingly near to the franchise’s 18th NBA championship, but still fell short. Long before it was ever considered, Marcus Smart, the team’s heart and soul and the past Defensive Player of the Year, could be traded.

Smart and Maisa Hallum planned to marry on September 16, 2014, at the upscale Pelican Hill Resort in Newport Beach, California. They wanted to be surrounded by friends and family, as well as the majority of the Celtics organisation that had drafted him with the sixth overall pick in 2014 and helped shape him into the player and man he is today.

The setting on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean was majestic. Surrounded by beautiful, manicured lawns, white flowers adorned the aisle and the gazebo. Guests at the resort stayed in villas and bungalows. The pool — an ode to the Coliseum in Rome. Everything about the place screams grand.

 

But by the time the RSVP cards were due, the entire dynamic had changed. Boston had worn down over the seven-game series with the Heat, unable to counter Miami’s switching defense and blazing-hot 3-point shooting (43% in the series, 48% in their wins).

While Boston hadn’t been concerned about Smart, it had become imperative to get a big man who could move the floor and pose a threat to opponents in the post.

 

Thus, the scene that marked the end of Marcus Smart’s tenure with the Celtics also served as the beginning of his married life.

 

The Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum described the extravagant wedding to ESPN, adding, “It was kind of like saying goodbye right before the season started.” “It was quite difficult. I had attended one Finals game and four Conference Finals with Jaylen [Brown] and Smart. We have simply experienced so much together. It seemed as though the band was disbanding.”