LOS ANGELES -- The Lakers added a major boost to their perimeter defense, officially signing 11-year veteran Marcus Smart on Tuesday after the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year agreed to a buyout with the Washington Wizards and cleared waivers.
The deal, which was first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania on Saturday, is a two-year, $11 million contract.
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To make cap space room for Smart, the Lakers waived guards Shake Milton, who was a part of last season's midseason trade that involved D’Angelo Russell for Dorian Finney-Smith, and Jordan Goodwin. Milton appeared in 30 games last season, while Goodwin played in 29.
Smart's addition to the Lakers roster immediately becomes the team's best defender and brings a tone setter on the defensive end with lots of game experience. Which is 635 games, to be exact, averaging 10.6 points, 4.6 assists, 3.4 rebounds and two steals in his career.
The question mark surrounding the 31-year-old guard is staying healthy. Nagging injuries, a foot sprain and a right finger injury in particular, limited him to appearing in just 64 games in the last two seasons since being traded out of Boston back in 2023, where he spent the first nine seasons of his career.
At 31, Smart still has a lot left in the tank, being one of those never-take-plays-off hustle players that are a rarity in today’s NBA, winning three Hustle Player awards for the Celtics—two coming in back-to-back seasons from 2022 to 2023—and being a 3x NBA All-Defensive First Team player.
Smart will be a solid defensive Swiss Army knife piece around Luka Dončić and LeBron James. He stands at six-foot-three with a six-foot-nine wingspan and solid frame to help in switch defense, where he can essentially guard multiple positions, a skill that is most needed in a league that prioritizes mismatches.