Before he was traded to the Celtics this week, Xavier Tillman already had a good idea of what it will take to thrive in his new home. A former member of the Grizzlies, he was in town on Sunday when the Celtics honored Marcus Smart, who received overwhelming love from the fans. Smart had described to Tillman how he earned that feeling.

“The main thing he told me (is) it’s very similar to Memphis in terms of the grit and the grind and how hard you have to work for the fans and appreciation and stuff like that,” Tillman said. “And once you do show that you’re willing to hustle, they’re gonna love you. I love it.”

Tillman, who was traded to the Celtics on Wednesday, participated in his shootaround with the team prior to Friday’s game against the Wizards. He did not suit up, still recovering from the left knee soreness that forced him to miss his final four games with the Grizzlies, so he’ll have to wait to earn that love from his new fanbase. But he’s certainly excited to be with the Celtics in their pursuit of a championship.

“It’s crazy, to be honest with you,” Tillman said. “I’ve always watched the Celtics in terms of just the winning history of it, back with (Kevin Garnett) and all that stuff and seeing these guys repeatedly go to the Eastern Conference Finals all the time, I’m always locked in on that. So for me to get the opportunity to be part of a winning organization, it’s pretty awesome.”

It’s unclear when Tillman will make his Celtics debut. He said he still needs some time to recover.

“I don’t have a timeline,” Tillman said. “We’re actually just getting here and meeting with the trainers and stuff like that. So we’ll go through it pretty soon here.”

When he’s at full health, Tillman is expected to serve as valuable depth in the Celtics’ frontcourt behind Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford. Brad Stevens said the addition of Tillman should give them more flexibility and options with their lineups, and his presence should help give Porzingis and Horford some rest as the C’s aim to preserve those two for a long playoff run.

Tillman will be an asset for the Celtics defensively, capable of guarding multiple positions and giving them some added rim protection. There will be an adjustment period as he learns the Celtics’ language and schemes, but he doesn’t think it will be overly challenging.

“Coming out of the film session, that’s something that I was learning and stuff like that, the nuances of how they like to operate and stuff like that,” Tillman said. “It’ll take a little bit but I don’t think it’ll be too long or too hard for me to get adjusted to it for sure.”

Springer joins fold

Jaden Springer, who was acquired by the Celtics at Thursday’s trade deadline, also joined his new team on Friday but was unable to make his debut due to a right ankle impingement.

The trade for Springer was a bit surprising as he came from the rival 76ers, who shipped him to Boston for a 2024 second-round pick. Trades between in-division teams, especially between championship-aspiring squads, are rare. On Friday, 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey had an interesting explanation for dealing away the 21-year-old Springer.

“Our evaluation was that his timetable to help a playoff team is farther out than what the second-round pick can do for us,” Morey told reporters, before adding, “it allows us to go out and maybe get a veteran at next year’s deadline.”

The Celtics are certainly glad to take him in and develop him, knowing he has great upside and has already proven to be an impactful defender in the league. They saw that firsthand during a preseason game back in October.

“He had a couple good stints against (Stephen) Curry and (Luka) Doncic as well,” C’s coach Joe Mazzulla said. “I think if you can get specialists, guys that have shown that they have one skill and do it really, really well, that’s an asset while also trying to get him better for the long term, so I’ve definitely seen moments of his individual defense and his ability to change a game like that, so it’s definitely something we can have on our roster.”

Tip-ins

Brian Keefe, a native of Winchester, has been an assistant coach in the NBA since 2007 but made his first trip back to Boston as a head coach on Friday. In his first season with the Wizards, Keefe was promoted to interim head coach last month after the firing of Wes Unseld.

Keefe, the former holder of Winchester High School’s scoring record, acknowledged it was special to return home as a head coach but didn’t want to put too much thought into it.

“Obviously I grew up about eight miles from here, so obviously a huge Celtics fan growing up, know the whole history of the team, family’s lived in this area for a very long time,” Keefe said. “I think personally, yeah, it’s obviously a big deal. Pretty cool feeling. But I’ve been thinking about our group too much to focus on that.” …

Jayson Tatum, who was questionable to play due to a non-COVID illness, was cleared to play against the Wizards, who entered with a 9-41 record.