Doncic personally recruits! The best defense in three sessions, 5.5 million a year! The king of Pelinka buys out the market

On July 20, the Lakers completed another important support. Former best defensive player Smart and the Wizards completed the buyout agreement and will join the Lakers for 2 years of $11 million. The Lakers will also trade Milton to get Smart. In order to get this 3D defensive strongman, Doncic also personally recruited and named it to get Smart.

Smart will also join the Lakers for 2 years and $11 million after the clarification period. The last year of the new contract is the player option and can re-enter the free market in 2026. The Lakers' backcourt defense has always been a problem, and Dongzi's defense has been criticized. According to sources, Doncic also called to recruit Smart, clarifying his strong desire to join forces with him, and this communication also played a key role.

This year, the Lakers did not operate much during the offseason. They lost Finney Smith, signed Laravia, signed Ayton in the buyout market, and now signed Smart in the buyout market. Some fans can’t help but sigh: Pelinka is worthy of being the king of the buyout market! Smart has helped the Celtics reach the playoffs for nine consecutive years, and has played for the Grizzlies and Wizards in the past two seasons, and assisting Dong Zhan has the opportunity to return to the championship ranks.

In the past two seasons, Smart has only played 54 games due to injury, and the average time in the 2024-25 season dropped to the lowest 20 minutes of his career. The Lakers and the Suns and the Bucks are actively chasing Smart, but the Lakers have also become the ultimate winner.

After signing Smart, the Lakers' new season lineup has reached 17 players, and 15 people with regular contracts have: James, Doncic, Hachimura, Reeves, Vanderbilt, Vincent, Cleber, Ayton, Laravia, Smart, Kneckett, Hayes, Goodwin, Brownie and Adu Tiero. Jamison and Dickson have two-way contracts.

So far in his career, Smart has been selected into the Best Defensive Team for the First Team three times. In the 2021-22 season, he was elected as the NBA's Best Defensive Player in the regular season. After becoming Payton in the 1995-96 season, he was another defender who won the Best Defensive Player. However, in the season after winning this award, Smart was traded.

In the current Lakers lineup, Laravia has also been a teammate for the Grizzlies and four of the Lakers have Grizzlies' resumes, namely Smart, Laravia, Jamison and Goodwin. From the Lakers' perspective, it is indeed a big winner in the buyout market. In addition to strengthening the center, strengthening the defense of the wings and outside is also an important task for the Lakers this offseason.

Reeves and Doncic's backcourt defense were well-known times, and signing Smart also really solved the problem of outside defense. The fundamental reason for improving the Lakers' strength in the new season is to get free sex with Ayton + Smart, but the problem is that Smart's defense and three-point shooting are still a bit of skills left.

Smart is undoubtedly a completely different person from Smart during the Celtics. His age and injury history seriously affect Smart's hard strength, and it is definitely not the peak level. However, for the Lakers, Smart is a lottery that can be tried to scratch, and his status in the new season directly determines the effect of this signing.

can ensure health and attendance and provide the defense the Lakers need, which is naturally the most desired result for the Lakers; the worst result is that Smart is not in shape, and the 1+1 contract will not affect the flexibility of the salary space in 27 years.

However, there is better than nothing. The Lakers' outside defense is really terrible. Whether James will part ways with the team in the new season depends on whether the team still has hope of competing for the championship. Now we have completed the reinforcement in a targeted manner. With an attitude, everything will be easy.