Lakers sign Smart rating B: More hopeful to win trust than Goodwin, reducing flexibility during the season

On July 20, the Lakers confirmed that they would sign a two-year, $11 million contract with Smart. Previously, Smart and the Wizards reached a buyout and will officially sign with the Lakers after the clarification period. ESPN then announced the Lakers' signing rating of B and analyzed it - after splitting the full middle-class special case to center Ayton and forward Laravia, the Lakers still have biennial special case available, providing Smart with a contract higher than the veteran's basic salary. The buyout deal will free him from his last season in his contract with the Wizards.

Essentially, Smart will replace Goodwin and Milton, the two Lakers defenders' contracts are non-guaranteed contracts, and the team must lay off them to make a place for Smart under the lower luxury tax threshold (Milton's $3 million salary was originally scheduled to be converted to a guarantee contract on Sunday local time).

Although Goodwin and Milton occasionally entered the rotation in the second half of last season, neither of them failed to get much playing time when they faced the Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs because Redick relied on the starters more. Goodwin played 31 minutes in the series, while Milton played only 4 minutes. Given Smart's resume—including 108 playoff experience with the Celtics and 2022 best defensive player honors, he has a better chance of winning Redick's trust and improving the team's weak perimeter depth.

The key question is, what kind of Smart will the Lakers get? He struggled with the Memphis Grizzlies in the first half of last season, shooting just 36% from the field before the Grizzlies sent him to Washington on the trade deadline in exchange for an expiration contract.

In the Grizzlies' two seasons, Smart only played 39 games due to multiple injuries, and his influence on both offense and defense was not as good as during the Celtics. Despite being only 1.91 meters tall, his tough play allows him to defend against opponents who are much taller than himself.

In 15 games for the Wizards, Smart showed certain signs of recovery. He is 31 years old. Although his career three-point shooting percentage is only 32% (not a good shooter), his shots (5.9 times per 36 minutes) mean that the defense needs to invest more attention in him than Goodwin - Goodwin's regular season three-point shooting percentage is 38% (small sample size), but failed to hit any three-pointers in the playoffs.

It might be more appropriate to have Melton in the "3D" role in the Lakers' backcourt, but he will head to other teams (reports say he could return to the Golden State after a brief Warriors career last season due to ACL surgery), then signing Smart at a good price would be a reasonable Plan B for Los Angeles.

Signing Smart will reduce the flexibility of the Lakers to increase their salary during the season. Currently, 14 players have signed contracts on the team, only about $1 million left before the hard salary cap. The Lakers will not be able to fill the last NBA roster until January at the earliest, and will also face difficulties in making a deal with "income salary higher than expenditure salary."