Marcus Smart is leaving the Lakers to join the Rockets
· Yahoo Sports
After LeBron James decided he no longer wanted to be a member of the Los Angeles Lakers and guard Luke Kennard agreed to a two-year contract with the Phoenix Suns, the Lakers have lost another member of their rotation from this past season.
Marcus Smart, who was a spark plug and an X-factor for them, has agreed to a two-year, $13 million contract with the Houston Rockets, per ESPN. He will reunite with coach Ime Udoka, who was at the helm of the Boston Celtics during the 2021-22 season, when Smart was named the Defensive Player of the Year as a member of the Celtics.
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"Free agent guard Marcus Smart has agreed on a two-year, $13 million deal with the Houston Rockets, plus a player option for the second season, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania.
"Smart made the decision Wednesday morning, with his agents Jason Glushon and Josh Ketroser informing Rockets officials, according to Charania."
Smart, 32, signed a two-year, $10.5 million deal with a player option for the 2026-27 season last summer after his previous contract was bought out. He averaged 9.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, three assists and 1.4 steals a game in the regular season and 12.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.4 steals a game during the playoffs with the Lakers.
His defense, ball-handling, facilitating and overall resourcefulness and leadership were invaluable for a Los Angeles squad that finished with a 53-29 record and upset the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs. He was quite possibly the only above-average defender in its rotation this past season.
This is the second year in a row L.A. has lost a key defensive-minded role player to the Rockets. Last summer, Dorian Finney-Smith, a 3-and-D forward the team had traded for in December 2024, signed a four-year, $53 million contract with Houston. Like Smart, he had declined his player option in order to become a free agent and leave.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Marcus Smart is leaving the Lakers to join the Rockets