The Los Angeles Lakers beat their biggest market rival, New York Knicks, to the draw in acquiring former NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, New York Post’s Stefan Bondy reports.
According to Bondy of the New York Post, the Knicks “checked in” with Smart before the former NBA Defensive Player of the Year decided to join the Lakers.
“Per source, Knicks couldn’t offer the type of role Marcus Smart was looking for,” Bondy wrote on X.
On top of that, the Knicks are limited in their spending power, with only the veteran minimum to offer Smart.
The three-time All-Defensive guard opted to sign a two-year, $11 million deal (player option on the second year) with the Lakers once he clears waivers after reaching a buyout with the rebuilding Washington Wizards, ESPN’s senior NBA insider Shams Charania reported on July 19.
In addition to the Knicks, the Lakers also beat the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks, who seriously pursued the 2022 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, according to Charania.
The signing of Smart, who started his career Celtics, was a tough pill to swallow for Simmons.
“Ahhhhhhh I’ve gone blind! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!,” Simmons posted on X, attached with the edited photo of Smart in a Lakers uniform.
Smart is the latest former prominent Celtics player who switched to the Lakers, joining Rajon Rondo, Rick Fox, Avery Bradley and Isaiah Thomas.
From Defensive Player of the Year to Journeyman
Getty LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers looks to pass the ball against Marcus Smart.
Smart was named the Defensive Player of the Year in 2022, the first guard to win the award after Gary Payton in the 1995-96 season. He was a three-time All-Defensive First Team while with the Celtics. He was a pillar for the Celtics teams that went to the NBA Finals in 2022 and reached the Eastern Conference Finals twice.
But Smart has been a shell of himself since the Celtics unceremoniously traded him in 2023 as part of the three-team deal that brought in Kristaps Porzingis.
Smart’s departure and Porzingis’ arrival led to the Celtics finally getting over the hump and winning their 18th NBA championship in 2024.
It was all downhill for Smart’s career since then as he became a journeyman, splitting his time in Memphis and Washington while navigating serious injuries. The 31-year-old guard has only appeared in 54 games over the last two seasons due to injuries.
After only appearing in 20 games in his first season with the Memphis Grizzlies, they cut bait when they shipped him to the Washington Wizards in a salary dump move at the trade deadline.
Smart would only see action for 15 games in the nation’s capital, averaging 9.3 points, 22.5 assists and 1.1 steals in 18.7 minutes off the bench.
Luka Doncic’s Commitment to Lakers in Full Display
According to Charania, Lakers star Luka Doncic directly recruited him and made it clear to Smart that he wanted to play with him.
NBA insider Marc Stein also shed more light on Doncic’s recruiting effort.
“Lakers star Luka Doncic made a direct recruiting pitch to Marcus Smart this week that resonated with the veteran guard, league sources tell @TheSteinLine, after Smart’s agent Jason Glushon was granted permission by the [Washington] Wizards to explore potential post-buyout landing spots,” Marc Stein of reported via X.
Doncic also played a key role in the Lakers landing former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton. They share the same agent — WME Sports basketball head Bill Duffy.
The Slovenian star’s recruitment of Smart and Ayton this offseason bodes well for the Lakers, who can sign him to a lucrative extension beginning on Aug. 2.
While he hasn’t directly confirmed he’s signing a long-term extension with the Lakers, his actions speak louder than words.
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