It's strange that he did not make an announcement here or on Reddit. Maybe smooth was trying to avoid any controversy or avoid having the community dispute the chosen path for the rebase?
I'm confused about what you find strange. I discussed the bounty with the other sponsors (katiecharm and exciter0) and we reached a conclusion. katiecharm (who was really the most active in proposing, organizing, and supporting the bounty) posted the conclusion on reddit and I replied that I was supporting that conclusion.
Perhaps I should have mentioned it here (not just on reddit) but besides that what part is strange?