Luka Dončić Recruited Marcus Smart to Los Angeles Lakers
Luka Dončić recruited Marcus Smart to the Los Angeles Lakers, according to NBA insider Shams Charania of ESPN.
Smart has agreed to a contract buyout with the Washington Wizards and plans to sign a two-year, $11 million deal with the Lakers. Year 2 of the deal is a player option.
Los Angeles needed to add an elite defender after losing Dorian Finney-Smith to the Houston Rockets. Smart won the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year Award with the Boston Celtics.
The Lakers were the third seed in the Western Conference last season. They lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs despite having home-court advantage, Dončić and NBA legend LeBron James.
Los Angeles head coach JJ Redick will bring Smart off the bench next season. Dončić, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, James and Deandre Ayton will be the starters.
Smart appeared in 34 games with the Memphis Grizzlies and Wizards last season. He averaged 9.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists while shooting 39.3% from the floor, 34.8% from beyond the arc and 76.1% from the free-throw line.
The 31-year-old Smart has played for the Celtics, Grizzlies and Wizards. The NBA veteran has career averages of 10.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists.
Smart was the sixth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft out of Oklahoma State University. He has appeared in 108 postseason games, all with the Celtics, who traded Smart to the Grizzlies in 2023.
Dončić can sign an extension with Los Angeles on August 2 for as much as four years and $229 million. The five-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer can also agree to a two-year extension to get him to 10 years of service in the offseason of 2028 and then sign a five-year max contract at 35% of the salary cap to maximize his earnings.
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