Lakers could re-sign $11 million ex-Celtics defensive star recruited by Luka Doncic, per report originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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In addition to deciding who to trade for during the offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers must decide which free agents they want to retain for the 2026-27 campaign.
It’s unlikely the 17-time NBA champions will keep all of them, forcing them to make difficult decisions that will help shape their future. Per a report from The Athletic’s Dan Woike and Sam Amick, the Lakers are interested in re-signing a former Boston Celtics defensive star whom Luka Doncic recruited last summer.
“Smart, whom Doncic recruited in free agency, could opt out of his deal and seek a longer-term contract,” Woike and Amick wrote Tuesday. “The Lakers have interest in retaining him.”
After the 2024-25 campaign, Doncic identified Smart as an ideal free agent target for the Lakers. According to Smart, Doncic’s insistence on having him join the fold in Los Angeles made it a no-brainer decision to ink a deal with the franchise.
“When you get a guy like Luka calling, checking on you, trying to see where you’re at, to see if you want to come join something special that he’s trying to cook up over here,” Smart said during an introductory press conference last summer. “For him to say that he can really use my help, that meant a lot.”
Offensively, Smart struggled to find his touch on the perimeter and around the rim, averaging 9.3 points per game on 39.5% field goal shooting and 33.1% three-point shooting in 54 contests. However, the Oklahoma State product did provide the Lakers with respectable on- and off-ball defense as a hard-nosed 6-foot-3 pest.
Smart posted a 116.9 defensive rating this year, recorded 1.4 steals per game in the regular season, and 2.4 steals in the playoffs. It would be wise for Los Angeles to at least consider bringing Smart back for another season.
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