The Los Angeles Lakers delivered a move to satisfy a long list of impatient fans who were waiting to see the roster be upgraded once more. Now, they have to ensure they can deliver on the terms of the contract they just handed to Marcus Smart.
Shams Charania broke the news of the Smart signing on Saturday. After clearing waivers, the defensive stopper is expected to join the Lakers for two-years, $11 million. The issue there is financials do not work out for Los Angeles quite yet.
NBA cap guru Yossi Gozlan pointed out that adding Smart on those contract terms would mean the usage of the full bi-annual exception for the Lakers. They will need to free up around $4.2 million to do this while staying under the first apron.
That can be accomplished by waiving a couple of their own players. Shake Milton and Jordan Goodwin, who are both on non-guaranteed contracts, are prime candidates to be wished the best of luck in their future endeavors as a result.
Waiving Milton and Goodwin is a necessity for the Lakers
Milton has already been expected to be on his way out from Los Angeles. When Jaxson Hayes was brought back by Rob Pelinka and the front office, the Lakers guard stood out as an immediate candidate for a new home.
Cutting Goodwin could theoretically still be avoided. It is just a natural pathway that exists to clearing up the money needed for the Smart contract that is about to go on the books.
Some sort of consolidation trade could certainly allow the Lakers to inch towards the financial mark they need to arrive at without releasing the promising bench guard who worked hard to gain JJ Redick's trust last season. However, there would need to be some quick traction on that deal.
The silver lining that could come from creating the extra roster spot by waiving Goodwin would be an opportunity to create another spot on the official roster for the 2025-26 season for the Lakers. There are a handful of ways that can be used.
Pelinka could pursue signing someone from the summer league roster that may have impressed the scouts enough during that experience. Unfortunately, an injury to Darius Bazley eliminated the most obvious candidate to get a deal from that squad.
Injuries like Darius Bazley’s genuinely break my heart.
— Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) July 18, 2025
The Lakers could otherwise be afforded the opportunity to pursue one more low-cost free agent remaining on the market. With an upgrade at backup center still sticking out as a need, that could be a natural spot to take a flier on someone.
The Smart signing allowed the Lakers to address one of their biggest weaknesses prior to it. Now is the time to keep pushing forward towards further bolstering what will hopefully be a championship contender in 2025-26.