Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart Signed With Los Angeles Lakers Because of Luka Dončić

Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart signed with the Los Angeles Lakers because of Luka Dončić, according to NBA insider Marc Stein of The Stein Line.

Dončić recruited Ayton, who was bought out by the Portland Trail Blazers, and Smart, who was bought out by the Washington Wizards.

“Luka Dončić is not contract extension-eligible until Aug. 2, but his first summer as a Laker has already been a busy one,” Stein wrote. “Soon to begin his (whoa) eighth NBA season, Dončić was a lead recruiter in the Lakers’ pursuits of Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart via the NBA’s increasingly robust July buyout market.

“I’m told that the recent Dončić pitch, once Washington granted the 31-year-old and his agent Jason Glushon permission to talk to other teams in search of a post-buyout landing spot, particularly resonated with Smart and helped lead the former Defensive Player of the Year to choose the Lakers over a determined push by the Suns to land the former Celtic.”

The Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2025 playoffs in five games. They didn’t have a center to stop Rudy Gobert or an elite wing defender to make things tough for Anthony Edwards.

So, Dončić put his recruiter hat on and got the Lakers Ayton and Smart.

Dončić can sign an extension with Los Angeles starting on August 2. All signs point toward to that taking place.

“External fretting about Dončić committing his long-term future to the Lakers, meanwhile, has dissipated considerably thanks to the contributions made by the 26-year-old throughout free agency in collaboration with vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka,” Stein wrote.

Los Angeles will start Dončić, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James and Ayton next season, sources told Dallas Hoops Journal.

Smart, the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year with the Boston Celtics, will be the Lakers’ Sixth Man.