The Lakeshow Review

The Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to terms with guard Marcus Smart, following a buyout with the Washington Wizards. Smart and the Wizards agreed to a buyout on Saturday, and he will join the Los Angeles Lakers on a 2 year/$11M deal as soon as Wednesday once he clears the waivers process. Smart gives the Lakers a tough, defensive minded guard who can both start or come off the bench. Additionally, Smart is the type of players who can check the other teams’ perimeter star, thus filling a great need for the Lakers as far as backcourt and perimeter defense is concerned. This is a solid move by the Lakers, as they needed the type of depth and skillset that Smart brings to the table. He potentially shores up some holes and gives the team a wide array of options in terms of lineup flexibility, which they didn’t have before. Smart’s physicality, toughness, leadership and experience will be a major coup for the Lakers’ backcourt, which will look to be more balanced next season, and hopefully bring the team to another level.

This has been an interesting off-season for the Lakers and General Manager Rob Pelinka. After LeBron James decided to pick up his (albatross) $52M player option, the club was left with very little flexibility or avenues to significantly improve the roster. Outside of trades where they’re sending out assets, LA had very little room to outright sign players to the salary cap. Perhaps somewhat beneficial was the fact that forward Dorian Finney-Smith declined his player option of $15M. This opened up the ability for the Lakers to obtain the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which they utilized to sign both forward Jake LaRavia and center Deandre Ayton. It also opened up the bi-annual exception (which has a total value of roughly $5M) and that was used to sign Marcus Smart. Essentially, the Lakers managed to turn the departure of DFS (32 years old) into a trio of Ayton (27 years old), LaRavia (23 years old) and Smart (31 years old). Not a bad turn of events, considering the value DFS brought as a perimeter defender and shooter. Getting three guys of the caliber of Ayton/LaRavia/Smart, considering the limited resources, is not a bad coup for this front office. There’s still some work to be done though, as LA will now have to make some roster tweaks in order to open up the full BAE money, which Smart’s contract indicates that he will get. The team waived guard Jordan Goodwin today (who had a partly guaranteed deal) and will likely waive Shake Milton’s non-guaranteed salary. I’d say it’s been a fairly robust summer for the from office, as they’ve acquired legit talent and upgrades, with such limited ammunition. We will see how these pieces end up figuring into the big picture. As things stand, both Ayton and Smart will have the added incentive of performing well in order to re-enter free agency next summer and parlay a higher payday (both have player options after 2025-26).

One interesting thing to note is that new Laker Luka Dončić helped lend his recruiting skills to land Smart. The Lakers’ star apparently reached out to Smart and pitched him on the idea of playing for the Lakers next season. This is big for two things. A.) Luka knows what this team lacks, when it comes to tough minded players who can defend the perimeter, and B.) Luka recruiting someone like Smart could be a sign that Luka is committed to staying with the team. We will know the latter for sure come early August when Luka is eligible to ink an extension. It is savvy for the team and the FO to seek inout from their best player.

X’s and O’s wise, Smart is a very good fit with the Lakers. He’s a capable two-way player, with a great emphasis on the defensive side of the ball. He is an excellent perimeter defender, who can lock up the opposing team’s best guard. Additionally, Smart is also a very intuitive and capable help defender. He plays the passing lanes, shoots the gaps, and can wreak havoc via double teams around the perimeter. He has both the motor and IQ to consistently generate turnovers and operates with the type of tenacity and energy than can be contagious. He has the potential to be a leader on the defensive side.

Offensively, he does have some scoring and playmaking capacity, averaging career totals of 10.6ppg/3.4rpg/4.6apg/1.6spg. His shooting metrics are below average though, as he shoots around 38% from the field, and around 32% from three. He is a capable free throw shooter at 77%. On a team like the Lakers, where he will likely be a 5th or 6th option offensively, these factors won’t be as magnified. I think he can shoot around 42% from the field (he’s had numerous seasons where he shot better than 40%), considering that he will do most off his offensive work off-ball and will get a healthy amount of open looks while playing opposite of Luka/AR/LeBron. He’s a good finisher and a decent catch-and-shoot option, which definitely bodes well. He’s also been a plus playmaker throughout his career, and can be an initiator on ball screens. I like his versatility, and on a much lighter workload, I think we can see the most efficient version of Marcus Smart.

One of the drawbacks to Marcus Smart is the injuries. He’s been relatively banged up as of late and you’d have to go back to 2023 to find the last season where he played 60+ games. Or 2022 for when he last played 70+. The Lakers are certainly rolling the dice on Smart’s ability to stay on the floor. But for $5M, considering their limited options, it’s a relatively reasonable risk, not to mention, one that carries a very high upside. If healthy, Smart decidedly raises the ceiling on this roster, particularly considering his defensive prowess. But it will all hinge on his ability to stay healthy.

To me, Marcus Smart is a starter. To get the most out of his leadership, impact and skillsets, he’s best suited to start alongside the regulars. He immediately becomes the best defensive player on the starting unit, which is something they’re sorely lacking. This means that one of Reaves or Rui should head to the bench. I wouldn’t be against either. I’ve always maintained that Reaves would be a great sixth man, however, with his aspirations towards a big payday and the team’s affection for him, this scenario is probably unlikely. That leaves Rui, who will be on an expiring contract and is a highly productive offensive player. Bringing him off the bench will give the team more balance and gives the reserves some much need firepower. Gabe/Vando/Rui/Jaxson is not a bad bench mob to go with, and could certainly give the team an added dimension, or two, which was not present last season. Either way, I like the added flexibility that these moves will bring forth.

The Lakers have done a good job of staying patient amidst Free Agency period, and awaiting for the right opportunities to strike. Though certainly not perfect, I have to be complimentary of the front office’s ability to fill these holes with so few resources and very little margin for error. It’s also good that they’ve been willing to look to the buyout market for solutions, where they’ve been able to acquire talent at below-market value, with the prospect of rehabilitating their worth. It isn’t the most high-profile approach, but it is a savvy one given their position. They will still maintain flexibility moving forward, not to mention draft picks, expiring deals and young assets at their disposal for potential future moves. Nonetheless, they’ve managed to improve the roster with legitimate talent upgrades. The Lakers are definitely a better team than they were at the end of the 2025 playoffs, and that’s a good thing thing. Perhaps even a Smart thing. OK terrible pun. Go Lakers.