In what has been a relatively quiet offseason for the Los Angeles Lakers, their biggest moves have come on the buyout market.
First, the Lakers landed their center when Deandre Ayton was bought out of the final year of his contract with the Portland Trail Blazers and chose to sign with L.A. as a free agent.
Center was unquestionably the Lakers’ biggest need going into the offseason, but after that, they also needed to address their perimeter defense. They did by signing Marcus Smart, another veteran player that was bought out by his former team.
According to Keith Smith of Spotrac, Smart gave back $6.8 million to be bought out of the final year in his contract with the Washington Wizards:
Marcus Smart gave back $6.8M in his buyout with the Washington Wizards.
Blake Wesley gave back $1.4M in his buyout with the Washington Wizards.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) July 21, 2025
This doesn’t really mean anything for the Lakers, although it makes more sense that the team gave him $5.1 million for the 2025-26 season to help recoup the money he gave up.
Smart being willing to give up that money shows how set he was on leaving Washington and joining Los Angeles. Luka Doncic reportedly helped with that decision as he recruited Smart hard, sharing a mutual respect after guarding each other for many years.
If Smart didn’t give up that money then the Wizards likely would not have bought him out, which would have left the Lakers still in search of a point of attack defender.
Smart was injured for most of the last two seasons so it remains to be seen what he has left in the tank, although adding a former Defensive Player of the Year at that price tag was not an opportunity the Lakers could pass up.
With reports indicating that Smart is healthy and getting into great shape this summer, the potential for this to be a great signing is there.
Marcus Smart Lakers contract details
The Lakers reportedly signed Marcus Smart to a two-year contract worth $11 million using the full bi-annual exception (BAE). The deal also includes a player option for the 2026-27 season.
In order for the Lakers to use the full BAE, they needed to clear more cap space under the first apron. They did that by waiving Shake Milton and Jordan Goodwin, the latter of which being unfortunate due to how important he was to L.A. down the stretch of last season.
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