Lakers complete signing of former DPOY

Marcus Smart has officially joined the Lakers. The team announced the signing of the veteran guard in a press release.

“Adding a player like Marcus Smart to our roster allows us to compete at the highest level,” Lakers GM Rob Pelinka said in the statement. “Marcus epitomizes what it means to prioritize winning above all else — whether that’s making huge plays on the defensive end or hitting critical shots in key moments of the most intense games. He knows and understands playoff winning and will be a key leadership voice in our group. Surrounding our stars with two-way players like Marcus is critical to our overall vision of how we want to play and win next season. This is an exciting player acquisition, for sure.”

Smart reached a buyout agreement with the Wizards over the weekend and was placed on waivers. At that time, it was reported that Smart had decided to join the Lakers. Smart’s new contract is worth $10.5M over two years and includes a player option for the second season.

Smart gave up $6.8M of his $21.59M salary as part of his buyout with Washington. The combo guard could back up both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves and will boost his new team with his leadership, ball-handling and defensive prowess.

He’s battled injuries over the past two seasons. Smart, 31, was named Defensive Player of the Year with Boston in 2022, but his career took a downturn after a trade to Memphis in the summer of 2023. A wide swath of injuries limited him to 39 total games in a year and a half with the Grizzlies before he was sent to Washington in a three-team deal at this year’s trade deadline.

He appeared in 19 games with Memphis and 15 games with the Wizards last season, averaging 9.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 20 minutes per night with .393/.348/.761 shooting numbers.