There has been a lot of smoke over the past couple of days regarding Marcus Smart leaving for the Rockets.
Smart has a player option for the 2026-27 NBA season. Given how well he played on a relatively modest salary, it’s been reported that he could opt out for a bigger payday this summer, with the Rockets as a potential destination.
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Now, late Sunday evening, Dan Woike of The Athletic is reporting that Smart is likely to opt out and that Houston is considered the favorite to land the guard.
As option day approaches, the belief around the league, according to multiple sources, is that Lakers guard Marcus Smart will opt out and seek a longer-term deal in unrestricted free agency. Smart, 32, was a critical piece for the Lakers last season, starting 54 of 62 games and giving the team its most consistent defensive presence on the perimeter. Smart’s best basketball came in the NBA postseason, when the short-handed Lakers upset Houston in the first round of the playoffs.
Strangely enough, according to team and league sources, the belief is that the Rockets will be the team most likely to land Smart once free agency opens on June 30 thanks to a multi-year deal. Smart played for Rockets coach Ime Udoka in Boston.
This is bad news for the Lakers. They reportedly wanted Smart back, but now it looks like that’s not in the cards for them.
Losing your best defensive guard in free agency doesn’t get you closer to being a title contender. Sure, Smart has his offensive limitations, but he is also a great defender and a hardworking player.
Ideally, Smart would be a Laker again, playing on a $5.4 million contract. And the Lakers could’ve still tried to find a starting guard so Smart could be slotted in a reserve role.
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If this report becomes reality, they’ll have no choice but to replace Smart, likely with a far more expensive player, and good luck with that person being as good as Smart was last year.
Smart selecting the Rockets would add some additional salt to the Lakers’ wounds.
One game seperated the Lakers and Rockets in the regular season. If Smart switches sides, an argument can be made that Houston has gotten slightly better and Los Angeles is heading in the other direction.
There’s plenty of time left to shape this roster, but based on the rumors, there’s not much good news coming out about the purple and gold. This is likely why fans have limited confidence in this front office heading into this summer.
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You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
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