The Los Angeles Lakers have been predicted to swap Rui Hachimura with Marcus Smart in the starting unit at the start of the 2025-26 season.
The change would be a significant one, considering that Hachimura started 57 of his 59 games for the Lakers last season, and 39 of 68 games in the 2023-24 season.
The Athletic’s Jovan Buha argued that it would make more sense for the Lakers to start Smart, mostly to cover for the defensive lapses of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
“If you have Smart defensively [guarding] 1-through-3, or 1-through-4, you still need a backcourt defender,” he said on his podcast. “… Ideally, you can ask Austin [Reaves] guarding the secondary backcourt guy, Smart guarding the primary guy, and Luka and LeBron roaming and guarding the two forwards, and Ayton staying in drop [coverage].
Three Guards in Starting Unit?
The Lakers beat writer argued that Hachimura, while a capable defender, struggled to match up with smaller players during the 2024-25 season, and is more comfortable going up against other power forwards or wings. To his point, Hachimura had his hands full trying to stop Anthony Edwards in the first round of the playoffs, as he guarded the Timberwolves star for nearly 50 minutes of partial possessions.
Buha’s projected starting unit would see the Lakers start Deandre Ayton, LeBron James and a guard-heavy lineup of Smart, Doncic and Reaves. However, he expects Smart to play only 28 minutes as a starter, with Hachimura logging 26 minutes off the bench.
The projected rotations would further see Jake LaVaria log 16 minutes off the bench, and Jaxson Hayes log 10 minutes as Ayton’s backup at center.
Can Smart Return to Relevancy?
If Smart does become a starter on the Lakers, it’ll mark a return to relevancy for the veteran guard, who became an afterthought during his time in Memphis. Smart was forced to play behind Ja Morant and Desmond Bane as a member of the Grizzlies after spending much of his Celtics career as the primary defender and locker-room leader.
Buha further explained why Lakers coach JJ Redick had every reason to entrust Smart, a former Defensive Player of the Year winner, in a starting role.
“It needs to be what makes sense positionally, and it’s like ‘OK, LeBron [James], Luka [Doncic] and Austin [Reaves] are the three best players,’” he said earlier.
“Then, what are the two positions you need around that? You need a center, a rim runner, rim protector. OK, you got Deandre Ayton. Then, you need a versatile, switchable defensive piece — that’s Marcus Smart. So, to me, that’s the starting lineup that makes the most sense.”
Smart, who played only 54 games the last two seasons due to injuries, is reportedly motivated to return to top fitness in a Lakers uniform.
“I’m likewise told that Smart (like Dončić) has been working hard on his body this summer. Conditioning was an undeniable issue for Smart last season, but the Lakers were convinced during their pursuit that they will see a sleeker version of the 2021-22 DPOY,” NBA insider Stein wrote on “The Stein Line” on July 20.
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