The Los Angeles Lakers' [offseason moves have been significant](https://lakeshowlife.com/lakers-made-steal-offseason-thanks-luka-doncic), and they're now in a position to contend in the Western Conference once again. But perhaps one of the biggest issues the team is going to run into next season is managing the minutes of the aging Marcus Smart.
It's obvious [what kind of value Smart brings](https://lakeshowlife.com/marcus-smart-already-making-lakers-coaches-rethink-depth-chart) to this roster on paper. He's one of the best perimeter defenders of the last decade, and he's been on plenty of teams that have gone deep into the playoffs. The experience he has will do a lot for improving the Lakers' team defense.
But with that said, there's going to be some pretty clear challenges that will go along with trying to incorporate the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year into the mix in Los Angeles. Smart's not going to be some sort of total black hole on offense, and his shooting ability is still strong enough to warrant defenders respecting his range at least a little.
The primary issue is going to be figuring out how best to manage his workload. Marcus is going to turn 32 years old before the end of next season, so it's unlikely that he'll be able to return to the kind of high-minutes role that he typically played back during his days as one of the premier defenders in the league in Boston.
The Lakers will have to monitor Smart's workload
------------------------------------------------
In fact, the last time Smart averaged higher than 30 minutes per night was during the 20 games he played for the Memphis Grizzies during the 2023-24 season. He ended up missing 62 games that season, and then between his time with the Grizzlies and Washington Wizards last year, he played just 20.0 minutes per night.
Injuries can unfortunately really add up for players in a short amount of time, and it's unclear whether Marcus will be able to get on the floor for super consistent minutes in 2025-26. Lakers fans will be hoping for the best, but there's going to have to be a certain amount of focus on preventing any further injuries as well.
Of course, the most difficult part will be balancing that with making sure he's on the floor long enough for his defense to be impactful as well. It figures to be one of the biggest challenges for LA's coaching staff.
If the Lakers can strike the right balance with Smart's minutes, his impact has the potential to be tremendous for this team.