Wizards officially announced the buyout of Smart! The Lakers cut Milton and still need to operate: The next step may be traded for Kneckett

On July 21, the Washington Wizards officially announced that they would buy out Smart, who will join the Lakers after the 48-hour clarification period. In order to sign Smart, the Lakers have cut Milton and will continue to operate and quit Goodwin or trade Kneckett and others.

Smart has the last year left in the contract, with a salary of US$21.34 million. In the process of reaching a buyout with the Wizards, Smart gave up about US$6.8 million; according to previous reports, Smart will join the Lakers after the clarification period, and the two sides signed a new two-year and $11 million contract. The Lakers used a biennial special case to sign Smart, whose annual salary in the 2025-26 season is US$5.13 million, and the 26-27 season is the player option.

At present, Smart has officially reached a buyout agreement with the Wizards. In order to sign Smart, the Lakers have started operations. According to famous reporter Shams, the Lakers have laid off Shek Milton, whose $3 million unsecured contract was originally supposed to be converted into a guarantee contract today; however, the Lakers have cut Milton, and their salary space is still not enough to sign Smart.

The Lakers' cuts Milton is just the first step to signing Smart. Currently, there is only $3.9 million in space from the first tycoon line, and Smart's starting salary is $5.1 million.

What should the Lakers do next? The Lakers can continue to cut Goodwin, so that the Lakers will have enough space to sign Smart, but in this case, the Lakers will not have room to sign the 15th regular contract player.

In addition, Lakers reporter Anthony Irwin reported that the Lakers are operating an integrated transaction, which is expected to involve Dalton Kneckett and Maxi Claiber. Even if the Lakers cut Sheck Milton, they will not be able to sign Marcus Smart directly, which means further operations are about to happen.

What will the Lakers do next? Let's wait and see.