Mar 8, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Marcus Smart (36) reacts against the New York Knicks in the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Mar 8, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Marcus Smart (36) reacts against the New York Knicks in the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
One of the things Los Angeles Lakers fans have wondered about throughout the summer is what exactly led to the team's breakup with Marcus Smart. The now Houston Rockets guard finally shed light on the matter, and in doing so, exposed inconsistencies with the spending spree in free agency.
In an interview with Varun Shankar of the Houston Chronicle, Smart called the Lakers' offer disrespectful. The former locker room leader in Los Angeles did not specify the exact money that was put on the table. However, there were plenty more comments to go with that initial assessment.
“I played so well that the offer that was ultimately given didn’t match the way that I played. Especially when you see guys who played way worse than I did, the offers they’re getting. And then it wasn’t any security that we wanted that they were willing to do.”
Smart took a two-year, $12.4 million contract with the Rockets. That indicates that whatever the Lakers put on the table for him had to be pretty lackluster. Perhaps this could all be chalked up to the veteran guard being a scorned ex, had it not been for everything else we saw in free agency.
Marcus Smart was not the only player Lakers lowballed
While Smart's deal with the Rockets was a modest one, the former Defensive Player of the Year did highlight something notable when speaking to Shankar. The second year on that contract has a player option. That gives him an opportunity to do something that he admitted was important to him: earn that next payday.
Putting that together with what was said before would lead one to believe Smart thought he already did that in Los Angeles. The Lakers clearly disagreed with their old guard.
You could write this whole situation off were it not for everything else that happened around it. Smart is not the only Lakers free agent that Los Angeles was shy about paying. Before Austin Reaves got his new megadeal, there were accounts that had the Lakers coming in at a much lower number than what he ended up with. $30 million on average is where negotiations started.
This next one is a little more speculative, but one could connect the dots on there being a financial hold-up with Rui Hachimura as well. Luka Doncic wanted Hachimura back and Rui wanted to stay in Los Angeles, highlighted by his move across town. It is safe to assume money was the problem.
Lakers spent big on their new free agency arrivals
Perhaps the Lakers are believers in the grass being greener, because the frugalness that was had with their own free agents was not something that showed up when negotiating with the incoming guys. The marquee new arrivals all got sizable contracts.
Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili, and Collin Sexton all got the type of money that could be individually and collectively argued as an overpay. There are not massive differences between what the Lakers gave out and what the market would have suggested as a fair price for each of them. However, Grimes, Mamukelashvili, and Sexton all have bigger annual salaries than anticipated.
Perhaps this is a case of the Lakers being willing to pay a little more for the guys they had identified as better fits for the Doncic-led future in Los Angeles. That would be the most generous interpretation. It gives Rob Pelinka and company the benefit of the doubt.
That may be more credit than is owed, though.
Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations