Former Maverick Luka Doncic Gets Honest on How Ex-Celtics Guard Will Impact Lakers

The Lakers will always have championship expectations because of what the franchise is. Doncic getting in shape is part of that, and he thinks that improved conditioning and adding Smart will help him be a better defender.

“I think [I will play defense] way better,” Doncic told reporters in his press conference after signing his extension with the Lakers. “You got Marcus, so he’s going to teach me some things. But that’s going to help a lot.”

“To build a team to win the championship,” said Doncic on why he helped the Lakers recruit Smart and former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton. “I think we had two great, great guys. I played against them before, never with them. So now I’m happy they are on my team.”

Doncic had plenty of battles against Deandre Ayton when Ayton was on the Suns, most notably, single-handedly dominating Game 7 in Phoenix of the 2022 Western Conference Semifinals. In that game, Doncic had as many points as the Suns did at halftime in one of the most dominant playoff performances we've seen recently.

His battles with Smart haven't been as frequent, but Smart was just the Defensive Player of the Year three years ago. That is a good experience to lean on.

Is Marcus Smart Still a Good Player?

The bigger question is how much Smart can impact winning at this stage of his career. When the Memphis Grizzlies gave up a few notable assets for him in 2023, it was quickly determined that he wasn't the same player, and they had to attach a first-round pick to be able to get off his contract and send him to the Washington Wizards.

In his last two seasons, split between the Grizzlies and Wizards, he averaged 11 PPG while shooting 41.1% from the floor. He's lost some of the athleticism that made him a great perimeter defender with the Boston Celtics.