Luka Doncic wanted Marcus Smart in Los Angeles badly enough to call him himself. What followed was a much bigger role than anyone expected. With Doncic, Austin Reaves, and LeBron James spending stretches on the sidelines, the former Defensive Player of the Year suddenly became a key piece of the Lakers’ rotation. Despite making his presence felt, he never secured the long-term security he was looking for.
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Marcus Smart believed the Los Angeles Lakers’ free-agency offer failed to reflect what he had accomplished on the court. GM Rob Pelinka, however, offered a different explanation for why the veteran guard was allowed to leave.
“I think it goes back to that thesis we talked about,” Pelinka said. “One of the things we really wanted to lean into was a team that lined up in age with Luka and AR. We want this team to grow together, and I think we were very intentional to get younger and deeper. So I think if you look at our roster, that thesis was consistent throughout. In terms of the Walker acquisition, it goes back to sort of fundamental, economic principles of supply and demand, right? Twenty-five-year-old two-way centers that are retrofitted perfectly for our two max guys, Luka and Austin, just don’t exist. There’s a scarcity of supply.
“And if you look at what you could potentially get in the draft or what is potentially going to come in free agency, those centers just don’t exist. So, when the opportunity comes and you have a superstar like Luka in your building, you have to seize it. And we feel very comfortable and confident about that decision and what we put into it. And I think our fans are going to see it play out. Walker Kessler makes Luka better. He makes Austin better—and vice versa. So it’s just a perfect fit, and we didn’t see any opportunity like that coming down the pike anytime soon.”
Smart recently described the Lakers’ contract offer as “disrespectful” after signing a two-year, $12.4 million deal with the Houston Rockets. The former DPOY said the money and, more importantly, the lack of security did not match his performance during the 2025-26 season.
“First off, I played so well that the offer that was ultimately given didn’t match the way that I played,” Smart revealed. “Especially when you see guys who played way worse than I did, the offers they’re getting. And then it wasn’t any security that we wanted that they were willing to do.”
Interestingly, Smart’s Houston deal was reportedly worth less than the offer he received from Los Angeles, although he declined to disclose the Lakers’ exact terms. The Rockets also offered him a second-year player option and allowed him to reunite with head coach Ime Udoka.
The timing made Smart’s departure particularly notable because he had arguably been at his best when the Lakers needed him most.
After joining Los Angeles, Smart averaged 9.3 points, 3.0 assists, and 1.4 steals across 62 regular-season games. His postseason performance was even more significant.
Smart started all 10 playoff games for the Lakers, averaging 12.9 points, 5.1 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.4 steals. He ranked third in the NBA in playoff steals and was one of only two players to average at least five assists and two steals during the postseason.
Pelinka’s statement was less about Smart’s criticism and more about the Lakers’ philosophy.
“We were very intentional to get younger and deeper,” Pelinka said.
The Lakers’ offseason was built around creating an age-aligned core around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Los Angeles moved away from several veterans while adding younger players on multi-year contracts, including Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Collin Sexton.
But the centerpiece of that strategy was Walker Kessler.
The new-look Lakers are designed to grow together rather than continually patching the roster around an aging superstar. JJ Redick offered perhaps the clearest description of the result.
“For the first time in my three years with the Lakers, this is probably the first time I feel the pieces actually fit together,” Redick said.
The comment adds another layer to Smart’s departure. From the veteran guard’s perspective, his production and playoff impact warranted greater security.
From the Lakers’ perspective, the offseason was about constructing a roster whose timelines matched Doncic and Reaves.