While the rest of the West has improved, the Los Angeles Lakers are betting big on discarded players with a chip on their shoulder to address their most pressing needs: center and point-of-attack defense.
Luka Doncic personally recruited both center Deandre Ayton — who is also represented by his agent, WME Sports basketball head Bill Duffy — and rugged defender Marcus Smart to play with him.
The Lakers are hoping Ayton, the former No. 1 pick, could recapture the form that helped the Phoenix Suns reach the NBA Finals in 2021. They are also banking on Smart to be healthy enough and show the chops that made him the 2022 NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
“I’m very motivated,” Smart told reporters during his introductory press conference.
With Smart now in Tinseltown, the Lakers’ championship odds improved.
They are now tied with their crosstown rivals Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic for the fourth-best championship odds (+1600) next season at ESPN Bet. But they are still far away from the clear-cut favorite, the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder (+250). Between them are the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets, who are all tied at +750 and the Kevin Durant-boosted Houston Rockets (+800).
Smart is bullish about their chances.
“I think we stack right up there with the best of them,” Smart told reporters. “And I think we can [compete]. Our ceiling is high. I think there’s no ceiling. I think if we all lock in and come and do what we’re supposed to do, we can have a real good shot at it.”
But first, Smart has to be healthy.
The 31-year-old guard only played a combined 54 games over the last two seasons, splitting his time in Memphis and Washington.
Why Marcus Smart Chose Lakers Over Bucks, Suns
Smart revealed he chose the Lakers over the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns, who also seriously pursued him, per ESPN’s Shams Charania, because of Doncic and LeBron James. The former Boston Celtic confirmed the multiple reports that it was Doncic, who personally recruited him to join the Lakers.
“There’s a lot of reasons [why I chose the Lakers], but the main one is being able to play with Luka and LeBron, two of the best to do it in this game, two greats with greatest basketball IQs that l’ve ever seen in this era,” Smart told reporters. “And when you get a guy like Luka calling, referencing, checking on you, trying to see where you at to see if you want to come and join something special that he’s trying to cook up over here. And for him to say that he can really use my help, that meant a lot.”
Smart had no personal relationship with Doncic until the new Lakers star reached out to him. But he said they definitely have a “mutual respect” for each other as competitors in the past.
“Every after game, there’s always flowers,” Smart added, referencing showering praise to his old competitor-turned-teammate.
Luka’s Call
Getty Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic gives a first pump to general manager Rob Pelinka, right, before game four of the first round of the NBA playoffs between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Smart recalled that he was working out when his agent, Jason Glushon, called to tell him that Doncic reached out.
“Yeah, whatever,” Smart said of his initial reaction.
Doncic reached out again, and that was when Smart realized that the interest was real. The rest is history.
“I played against Luka a lot,” Smart told reporters. “I’ve been on a lot of opposing ends of Luka magic. And to be able to come out and be on his side at this time, it means a lot.”
It means a lot to the Lakers, too.
After all, Smart, Ayton and Jake LaRavia, their three new additions, only cost them a combined $19 million and a change while keeping their draft capital.
Smart Boost: Lakers Title Odds Jump After Free Agency Bets