31-Year-Old Defensive Player of the Year Bought Out & Joining Los Angeles Lakers

A former Defensive Player of the Year Award winner has officially been bought out by the Washington Wizards and will sign a multiple-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. This is a significant improvement to the Lakers’ roster and could really shape out how the 2025-26 Lakers look going forward. Let’s take a deeper dive into which former Defensive Player of the Year Award winner will be joining LeBron James and Luka Doncic.

Former Defensive Player of the Year Joins Los Angeles Lakers

It has been reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania that former Defensive Player of the Year Award winner Marcus Smart has been bought out by the Washington Wizards and is signing a two-year, $11 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns were also in conversations with Smart, but he ultimately chose the Lakers. Los Angeles is now $909,000 below the first apron and will need to clear out some salary to use the $5.1 million biannual exception to improve the roster.

Marcus Smart won the 2021-22 NBA Defensive Player of the Year and played in 34 games between the Memphis Grizzlies and Washington Wizards last season. He averaged 9.0 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.1 steals while posting a 39.3/34.8/76.1 shooting split. Smart can easily slide into the starting point guard role and play well with Luka Doncic to help take on the more difficult guard on the floor.

With the Lakers now having a potential starting lineup of Luka Doncic, Marcus Smart, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, and DeAndre Ayton, this could be a team that has a lot of interest going forward. Even if coach JJ Reddick puts Smart on the bench, the contract is team-friendly and allows them to continue adding for the upcoming season if they choose to do so.