Marcus Smart Agrees To Buyout With Washington, Signs With Surprise Contender

Back in 2022, Marcus Smart was one of the most valuable players in the NBA when he won the Defensive Player of the Year award with the Boston Celtics, but since then, he's failed to perform at the same level. In the years since, Smart has been with the Memphis Grizzlies, a team that traded him to the Washington Wizards during the 2024/25 season, with most not expecting him to remain on the team this off-season.

Over the weekend, that became official, as Smart agreed to a buy-out with the organization, with the 31-year old veteran wasting no time in landing with his new team.

After the buy-out, Smart agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, as the team add yet another high level defender to their team as they look to continue building around Luka Doncic, while giving LeBron James another chance to win late in his career. During the 2024/25 season with Memphis and Washington, Smart managed to put up 9 points and 3 assists a night in just 20 minutes played on two teams that didn't give him a significant role, but in Los Angeles, he's expected by many to be a significant part of their starting lineup upon arrival.

Where Smart continues to thrive is on the defensive end of the floor, as he remains one of the elite perimeter defenders in the NBA, and while it's unclear he can be the player we saw back in 2022 with the Boston Celtics, if he can be anywhere near that, this is a brilliant pickup for the Los Angeles Lakers.