Marcus Smart and Puma have "mutual interest" in endorsement deal

The heart of the Boston Celtics and defensive mastermind Marcus Smart has spent the past couple of days down in Las Vegas at the Team USA training camp. Playing alongside his Celtics teammates Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Kemba Walker, it seems Smart has a new wardrobe in place for his Team USA apparel both on and off the court.
Marcus Smart of the Boston Celtics. Photo via Maddie Meyer

Although his sense of style may seem like insignificant news to us, it could hint at something bigger to come in Smart's career. Back in 2014, a younger Marcus Smart fresh out of Oklahoma State University signed a four-year endorsement deal with Addidas alongside Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid. Ever since Smart has been representing Addidas in his NBA career. Now, four years later, the Addidas contract is set to expire and if his Team USA apparel is any indication, it seems Marcus is ready for a change.
Arriving in Las Vegas Sunday night with the rest of the NBA players participating in the camp, Smart was decked out in Puma branded gear. Just a day later at the camp's first practice, Smart played in Puma Uproar shoes which were a big change from the three-striped Addidas sneakers he's always worn thus far in his career.
With Smart breaking out the red, white, and blue kicks for his Team USA stint, reports arrived saying both Smart and Puma had a "mutual interest" in getting a deal done.

As a brand, Puma has had links with the Boston Celtics over the last few years with the signing of former Celtics point guard Terry Rozier to an endorsement contract of his own after his impressive play in the 2018 NBA playoffs. With Rozier now in Charlotte, Puma apparently has its eyes on the Celtics' remaining back up point guard.
When asked about the Puma situation by NBC Sports' Chris Forsberg after Monday's Team USA practice Smart jokingly avoided the question about the unofficial news saying "I plead the fifth."
It seems Smart has his eyes focused on Team USA's training camp and the opportunity to spend time with his Celtics teammates. According to Marcus, the group as already gone out to dinner and got to know each other's personalities a bit more, something extremely important heading into next season.
As of right now, Smart's deal with Puma is not official but I'm sure all Celtics fans would love to see Smart rewarded on a bigger stage with a bigger payday in his new contract with the athletic apparel company. Given the amount of hard work and effort Marcus puts into every game in a Celtics uniform he definitely deserves it.

Hopefully, Smart and Puma can get the deal done sooner rather later so he can focus on his play both for Team USA and the Celtics this fall.

 You can follow Thomas Desmond on Twitter @td_654.