The Los Angeles Lakers just watched Marcus Smart walk away for a price tag they easily could have matched. Early Wednesday morning, Shams Charania reported that the former Defensive Player of the Year agreed to a two-year, $13 million contract with the Houston Rockets. The contract includes a player option for the second year, meaning Smart essentially locked in a one-year trial with Houston before he can hit the open market again.
Losing a perimeter defender like Smart hurts. What makes it sting even worse for the purple and gold is that this is the second consecutive summer where Houston head coach Ime Udoka has plucked a critical defensive role player straight out of Los Angeles. Last year it was Dorian Finney-Smith. Now, the Rockets have taken the point-of-attack defender who kept the Lakers afloat when things got ugly last season.
The Undervalued Impact of Marcus Smart in Los Angeles
A lot of casual fans will look at Marcus Smart’s regular-season stat line from last year and wonder why anyone cares. He averaged 9.3 points, 3.0 assists, and 2.8 rebounds in 62 games. Those aren't eye-popping numbers. But basketball isn't played on a spreadsheet.
When Luka Doncic went down with an injury and Austin Reaves missed significant time, Smart shifted into a completely different gear. In 10 postseason starts for the Lakers, he raised his game to 12.9 points, 5.1 assists, and a staggering 2.4 steals per night. He held the perimeter defense together with duct tape and pure willpower.
Smart took a massive financial gamble on himself last summer. He walked away from $6.8 million in a buyout with the Washington Wizards just to sign a cheaper, one-plus-one mid-level deal with the Lakers. He wanted to prove he was still an elite, winning player after a couple of brutal, injury-riddled seasons in Memphis and DC. He proved it. Then, the Lakers let him walk away for a taxpayer mid-level exception price tag.
Why Ime Udoka Wanted This Reunion
The connection here isn't a secret. Smart played his best basketball under Ime Udoka during their lone season together with the Boston Celtics in 2021-22. That was the year Udoka handed Smart the keys as the full-time starting point guard, resulting in an NBA Finals run and Smart becoming the first guard to win Defensive Player of the Year since Gary Payton in 1996.
Houston has built a top-six defense over the last two seasons, but they have a glaring vulnerability. Fred VanVleet suffered a torn right ACL last year and missed the entire season. With VanVleet's availability for the start of the upcoming 2026-27 season still up in the air, Udoka desperately needed an experienced, loud, mean defender who already knows his defensive schemes inside and out.
Smart doesn't just fit the system. He changes the entire locker room dynamic for young players like Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard. He brings the exact type of defensive accountability that Udoka demands.
The Cap Gymnastics Behind the Agreement
The financial mechanics of this deal are where things get interesting. Initial reports listed the agreement as a flat two-year, $13 million deal. However, the reality of the NBA salary cap means the numbers look a bit different under the hood.
Because the Rockets want to retain the flexibility to re-sign restricted free agent forward Tari Eason without triggering a hard cap at the first tax apron, they are using the taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Smart. A two-year taxpayer MLE contract actually caps out at roughly $12.43 million.
Houston could still adjust these terms before the July free agency moratorium ends next Monday. If the Rockets manage to trade away Dorian Finney-Smith—something league sources indicate they are actively shopping—they could clear up the full, non-taxpayer mid-level exception and give Smart a slight bump or an extra year. As it stands right now, Houston sits roughly $25.7 million below the second apron with a couple of roster spots left to fill.
Where the Lakers Go From Here
Lakers fans can find some comfort in the fact that they beat Houston in the first round of the playoffs last season, even with Doncic and Reaves missing chunks of the series. The Lakers have also reportedly executed a massive trade with the Utah Jazz to land rim-protector Walker Kessler.
But adding size at the rim doesn't fix a leak at the perimeter. Letting an elite point-of-attack defender walk away to a conference rival for less than $7 million a year is a highly questionable choice for a franchise that claims to be in win-now mode.
With the free agency market moving incredibly fast, the Lakers front office has to pivot immediately. They need to aggressively target remaining veteran backcourt defenders who can handle tough assignments, or they risk starting the season with a massive hole in their perimeter rotation. Relying solely on internal development or expecting an aging roster to cover that defensive ground is a recipe for a slide down the Western Conference standings.
