When Marcus Smart was introduced as a new member of the Memphis Grizzlies at a press conference on Friday, he said he and the team fit each other perfectly.

"I'm excited to start a new journey in my life and in my basketball career, and what better way to than to be in a city where it fits me perfectly?" Smart told ESPN. "Grind City. I'm a grinder; that's what I do."

Smart was traded by the Boston Celtics to the Grizzlies in a three-team deal that also involved the Washington Wizards in June. Smart, who had played nine seasons as a Celtic and was seen by many as a locker room leader, joined the Grizzlies, who share something in common with the Celtics. Both teams are resilient, fond of physical games and prefer to beat their opponents in the mire.

The Celtics have been a team with such spirit since the Bill Russell era in the 1960s. The Grizzlies became one of the NBA's toughest teams when Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph were the team's leaders in the 2010s.

The Grizzlies finished each of the 2021-22 and the 2022-23 regular seasons with over 50 wins. It may not seem as incredible as reaching the NBA Finals or winning the title, but it's a big deal to the team that has had no more than six seasons with 50+ wins in total since they joined the league in 1994 and began to play in 1995.

The Grizzlies lost in the Western Conference semifinals in 2022 and were knocked out in the first round this year. Having not been satisfied with such results, the team's front office began to search for ways to enhance their lineup since the offseason began.

"We took a step back coming out of this last season and said, what are the things that we're looking to add in this group? You put out the boxes that you're trying to check," the Grizzlies' general manager Zach Kleiman said. "We're looking for someone who can be the lockdown defender, versatile across positions. We're looking for more playmaking. We're looking for someone who's battle-tested at the highest levels of the NBA. [We were able] to find someone – and I don't think there's many players in the NBA and I think Marcus is the very best of them – who kind of checks all those boxes. But much more importantly, (he is) somebody who also just passes the gut test. Marcus is someone that is just a flat-out winner."

Smart averaged 11.5 points, 6.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game for the Celtics last season. As one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, he is strong enough to switch to guard big men in the low post and reads the situation well to provide help in defense to teammates. The Grizzlies are in great need of such abilities after they sent Dillon Brooks to the Houston Rockets via sign-and-trade.

The Grizzlies have the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) Jaren Jackson Jr. to protect the paint. He is agile enough to switch out and mark backcourt players, but doing that too often will not only leave the team's paint dangerously open but also increase his risk of falling into foul trouble. Smart, as the DPOY of the 2021-22 campaign, can improve the Grizzlies' perimeter defensive line and help Jackson Jr. by attacking the player he guards from the blind side.

"For me it was, 'Yes! Let's blankin' go!' I was fired up. We've got a great competitive group that needs more juice to get us to the next level, and that's what Marcus is going to do for us," the Grizzlies' head coach Taylor Jenkins said.

"I've got to earn these guys' trust," Smart said. "In Boston, I was there. I was the longest-tenured guy. I grew up with those guys. Here, I'm a new face coming in, although I have some experience on me. But as competitors, you see a new guy coming in, guys aren't just going to give me their attention right away. They're going to have to earn it. And that's what I expect to do."

Smart's playmaking ability will also help solve the Grizzlies' immediate concern about the lack of an orchestrator because of the minimum 25-game suspension of the team's All-Star point guard Ja Morant. Though Smart may not join hands with Morant in the first two months of the 2023-24 season, he looks forward to playing with the rising star.

"Ja is a very special player, very special player, and he's very important to the team. For us to do anything great, we're going to need Ja, and we're going to need Ja to be the best he can be. So for me as a competitor, I love to push guys to the limit, especially a guy who's great," Smart added.