Marcus Smart is expected to decline his player option and enter unrestricted free agency, with league-wide belief pointing toward the veteran guard joining the Houston Rockets, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic. Smart has a $5.4 million option for the 2026-27 season but is reportedly seeking a longer-term contract.
The potential move would end Smart’s brief Lakers tenure after he became one of the team’s most important perimeter defenders. In the 2025-26 season, Smart started 54 of his 62 games for Los Angeles, averaging 9.3 points, 3.0 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 28.5 minutes per game.
Smart’s offensive numbers were modest, as he shot 39.5% from the field and 33.1% from three on 4.7 attempts per game, but his defensive role filled a major need for a Lakers team built around Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and LeBron James. Doncic averaged 33.5 points, 8.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds while carrying the primary offensive workload, making Smart’s ability to defend opposing guards and wings particularly valuable.
The Lakers finished the regular season 53-29, earning the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. Smart was part of a rotation that helped them defeat the Rockets 4-2 in the first round of the playoffs before Los Angeles was swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Smart’s strongest performances came in the postseason. His defensive impact was central against Houston, where the Lakers limited the Rockets to 98 points or fewer in two of the first three games and held them to 78 points in Game 6 to close out the series.
A reunion with Houston would connect Smart with head coach Ime Udoka, who coached him during his time with the Boston Celtics. Smart spent nine seasons in Boston before being traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in 2023 and later moving to Los Angeles.
The Rockets finished the 2025-26 season 52-30, placing fifth in the Western Conference. They were eliminated by the Lakers in the first round, but adding Smart would give Houston another experienced defender alongside a young core competing in a crowded West.
