Marcus Smart shouldn't expect boos in his Boston return with Lakers

Marcus Smart is a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. As weird as that was to type, it's been weirder seeing him do interviews with a backdrop of purple and gold during his press run since the signing. It'll be even weirder when he actually suits up to play for the arch-rivals of the team he spent the first nine years of his career with.

It's probably weird for Smart too, who over time became the heart and soul of the Boston Celtics after they drafted him in 2014. Hating the Lakers was a prerequisite for the role, and Smart didn't shy away from Boston's rivalries. That's likely why he expects Boston to boo him when he returns as a Laker. It's probably what he would do.

"I'm expecting a lot of boos, I'm expecting a lot of hate, and it's okay, I understand it.”

— Marcus Smart on what it'll be like when Celtics fans see him in a Lakers uniform.

(h/t @ohnohedidnt24)

pic.twitter.com/pzK4wByQJ3

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) July 23, 2025

Smart should give himself more credit, though. They love him up there more than he knows.

This comes from someone not remotely close to a Celtics fan or anything Boston adjacent. Even so, I feel comfortable saying Smart won't get booed. In fact, I think it's more likely he gets the opposite; a warm welcome. It's never been hard to see how much people appreciated his hard-nosed, defense-first style of play -- even if they complained a lot about some of his choices on offense. If nothing else, fans like a player who goes hard.

Those fans in Boston also know it's not Smart's fault he's no longer in Boston. It was the Celtics who traded him two years ago... right before they went on to win a championship, which Smart admitted was a bittersweet moment. Since then, injuries have held him to a combined 54 games over the last two years with the Grizzlies and Wizards. And after all that, it was the Lakers -- Luka Doncic, specifically -- who came calling for his services.

Marcus Smart talks about Luka Doncic’s efforts to recruit him to L.A. He said prior to this summer, they didn’t have a relationship beyond mutual respect as competitors: “It was always flowers” pic.twitter.com/4k4KPi3tQu

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) July 22, 2025

Who could be mad at Smart for going where he's wanted? My guess is it won't be nearly as many people as he expects.

CP3 will finish as CP3

One wrinkle I hadn't really considered when the Los Angeles Clippers signed both Bradley Beal and Chris Paul this offseason is that both players wear No. 3. And while Paul is obviously the more accomplished player, Beal got there first. So, he had dibs to wear the number if that's what he really wanted to do.

Thankfully for Paul, that's not what Beal wants to do. According to Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, Beal offered to give up the number as soon as he knew the future Hall of Famer had a chance to return to LA for his swan-song season.

Breaking news from Lawrence Frank - Bradley Beal has given up #3, so Chris Paul can wear it again with the @LAClippers.

"Brad is such a great guy & an awesome teammate... He knows what that jersey means to Chris. There's a reason why he's CP3."

Absolute pro stuff from Beal. 🥹

— Lauren Rosen (@LaurenMRosen) July 22, 2025

So, that's settled. CP3 will remain CP3, and Beal will rock a new, yet-to-be-named number for the first time in his own accomplished 13-year career.

Shootaround

• The cold war between LeBron James and Drake rages on. Here's Bryan Kalbrosky with a timeline of events that led up to the apparent conflict.
• 8 undrafted free agents who deserve contracts after NBA Summer League
• Speaking of Summer League, Jazz big man Kyle Filipowski was named MVP.
• Kevin Durant's former home in Oklahoma City just hit the market for the super low price of... $35. Here's Andrew Joseph with the reason why.

This was Layup Lines, For the Win's basketball newsletter.Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Marcus Smart expects Celtics fans to boo him after signing with Lakers