Losing Marcus Smart to the Houston Rockets was one of the bigger head-scratchers of the 2026 offseason for the Los Angeles Lakers. It looked even more confusing when the framing of events painted it as the Lakers just flat out choosing Collin Sexton over him. That may not have been the case.
Jovan Buha mentioned on the Third Apron Podcast: "I don't have great clarity on this, and there's differening accounts of how it all went down, but my understanding is that, to some degree, Smart was ready to move forward in a different situation."
Should Buha be correct about this not being a Lakers-fueled decision, it paints the franchise in a much more forgivable light. There was reason to be unhappy about losing Smart in free agency. That is especially true considering the modest two-year, $12.4 million contract he signed.
The Lakers had a ton of reason to seriously consider keeping Smart around. If the decision for the split was one-sided on the player's end, or even just mutual, it paints what was once a questionable move into an understandable parting of ways for both sides.
Marcus Smart's departure from Los Angeles looks much different if he pushed for it
Smart was a great fit among last year's group. After back-to-back seasons of missing time with injuries in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the veteran guard delivered a relatively healthy and productive campaign.
62 games played in the regular season and full availability for the 2026 NBA Playoffs was great. Amid that was less than ideal scoring efficiency, sure. It was more than offset by just how tremendous his defense looked once more. Smart was easily the Lakers' best player on that end last season.
In particular, the former Defensive Player of the Year offered the best option at the point of attack out of anyone on the free agent market for Los Angeles. Instead, it will likely be Quentin Grimes looking for a renaissance in that role among the starters this season.
Age was said to be a factor for the Lakers here. It was reported earlier in the summer that getting players who aligned more closely with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves was a big part of their plans. At 32 years old, that just isn't Smart.
Even so, with the clear defensive help, locker room leadership, and on-court energy that Smart brought, it was tough to see him go. It was even tougher to think the Lakers just let it happen. It may not have been that clear-cut after all, and that should offer at least a little bit of solace about the dissolved partnership.
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