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Following the free agent signings of Deandre Ayton and Jake LaRavia, the Los Angeles Lakers seemingly had another roster move to make. With the departure of Dorian Finney-Smith, the Lakers were in need of a consistent 3&D player. While LaRavia expressed interest in filling that role during his introductory press conference, it appears the Lakers have their man in agreeing to a contract with Marcus Smart.
Marcus Smart will reportedly join the Lakers roster after agreeing to a contract buyout with the Washington Wizards. Smart will sign a two-year, $11 million deal as per Shams Charania of ESPN. While the Lakers will still need to make a couple of roster moves to fit Smart’s deal under the salary cap, this was one of the best outcomes the Lakers could have hoped for.
With the Wizards in a youth movement, Smart always seemed a probable buyout candidate. For the Lakers, who had obvious needs up front and in the backcourt this offseason, being patient paid off in a big way for them. Instead of rushing to make moves, the Lakers sat back and saw Ayton and Smart fall into their lap. And that’s a credit to the front office, who have been under pressure to make contending moves.
But nevertheless, here’s a grade and breakdown of the Lakers agreeing to sign Smart.
Lakers to sign Marcus Smart
While Smart might not be the tallest guard out there, he’s made up for it with his tenacity on the defensive end. He’s able to guard multiple positions due to his strength and defensive instincts. And he’s the only guard who’s won the Defensive Player of the Year Award since Gary Payton in 1996.
Smart can excel in different ways defensively including his ability to switch and to be the primary point of attack defender. For that reason, it’s possible that Smart could be an option to start alongside Austin Reaves in the backcourt. That would likely mean LeBron James and Luka Doncic are the starting forwards with Rui Hachimura moving to the bench. The Lakers starting lineup needs a jolt of defense and that’s what Smart brings.
Smart split last season between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Wizards after being moved in a trade. During the second half of last season, he appeared in 15 games for the Wizards at a little over 18 minutes per game. He averaged 9.3 points, 1.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals with splits of 44 percent shooting from the field and 39.2 percent shooting from the three-point line.
One big knock on Smart the past couple of seasons though has been his durability. He played only 34 games last season and only 20 games in 2023-24. Obviously the Lakers are operating under the assumption he can stay healthy.
But aside from his injury woes the past few years, this was the best the Lakers were going to get without making a trade. This was a slim pickings free agent market with most of the marquee names not in any danger of leaving their home teams. And for a team that little at their disposal in terms of free agent money to begin with, the Lakers have had a very strong offseason.
As mentioned before though, much hinges on Smart’s health which hasn’t been all that great recently. That’s the only reason why this move doesn’t get an A. But again, with the tools the Lakers had at their disposal to begin the offseason, they knocked this one out of the park.
Final Grade: B+
