The Los Angeles Lakers just let their best perimeter defender walk out the door for basically nothing.
When news broke that veteran guard Marcus Smart agreed to a two-year, $13 million contract with the Houston Rockets, Lakers fans immediately took to social media to blast general manager Rob Pelinka. They have every right to be furious. Smart chose to decline his $5.4 million player option in Los Angeles, betting he could find a better situation on the open market. He found it in Houston, securing a nice little raise and a second-year player option.
Losing a former Defensive Player of the Year for a measly $6.5 million annual average is tough to swallow. It is especially brutal when you realize exactly how much the Lakers relied on him last season.
The Price of Letting Winning Players Walk
Let’s look at the actual numbers because they paint a damning picture for the front office in Southern California. Last season, Smart was the ultimate glue guy for a chaotic Lakers roster. He appeared in 62 games, starting 54 of them, and averaged 9.3 points, 3.0 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in roughly 28.5 minutes per contest.
Those regular-season stats are solid, but they don't capture his real value. When the postseason arrived, Smart flipped the switch. Forced into a heavier offensive workload due to backcourt injuries, he elevated his game to average 12.9 points, 5.1 assists, and 2.4 steals during the playoffs.
Ironically, his best playoff moment came against the very team that just signed him. Wearing purple and gold, Smart completely dismantled Houston in Game 3 of their first-round series, torching them for 21 points and 10 assists while playing lock-down defense. The Rockets front office clearly took the old "if you can't beat them, sign them" advice to heart.
For a Los Angeles team looking to build a cohesive defense around its roster pieces, losing that kind of postseason grit for $13 million over two years feels lazy. Fans are openly questioning why the front office couldn't spare an extra million or two to keep their defensive identity intact. Instead, the Lakers are banking on cheap replacements while their core depth erodes.
Why Ime Udoka Got His Perfect Guard
The basketball fit in Houston is incredibly seamless, largely because of one man: Ime Udoka.
Smart and Udoka have a deep history together. Back in the 2021-22 season with the Boston Celtics, Udoka handed Smart the keys to the offense as the full-time starting point guard. The result? A trip to the NBA Finals and Smart becoming the first guard since Gary Payton in 1996 to take home the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award.
Houston desperately needed this exact signing for two major reasons:
- The Fred VanVleet Insurance Policy: VanVleet missed all of last season with a devastating torn right ACL. His timeline for the start of the 2026-27 campaign is still up in the air. Smart gives them an immediate, proven starting option who won't blink under pressure.
- Insane Defensive Identity: The Rockets have quietly built a terrifying defensive unit, finishing sixth and fifth in defensive rating over the last two years. Adding Smart to a backcourt that already features young defensive pests like Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard is just cruel to opposing offenses.
Some Houston fans online are worried that Smart will soak up too many developmental minutes from a lottery pick like Sheppard. That is a short-sighted way to look at it. Having an aggressive, vocal vet like Smart in the practice facility is the best thing that could happen to a rookie guard trying to learn how to survive on defense in today's league.
Cap Gymnastics and the Rockets Next Steps
Houston played this beautifully from a financial standpoint. According to salary cap insiders, the Rockets used the taxpayer mid-level exception to trigger this deal.
If they had pushed for a longer three-year contract using the non-taxpayer MLE, they would have triggered a hard cap at the first tax apron. That would have severely crippled their ability to retain crucial restricted free agents like Tari Eason. By sticking to a two-year deal worth $13 million, they avoid that hard cap entirely, keep financial flexibility, and give Smart the second-year player option he wanted.
If you are a Houston fan, your next move is to watch the trade market. Rumors are already swirling that the Rockets are trying to move veteran forward Dorian Finney-Smith. If they dump that salary before the July free agency moratorium ends next Monday, they could technically free up the full mid-level exception and rewrite the terms of Smart’s deal to lock him down even longer.
For now, Houston walks away as one of the biggest winners of early free agency. Los Angeles, on the other hand, is left holding the bag, wondering how they let their toughest player walk away for a discount.
