Getting on the same page isn’t as easy as it seems, and even less so when millions of dollars are on the line. Although Marcus Smart’s 2025-26 season with the Los Angeles Lakers was truly good, when it came time to sit down to talk about his renewal, everything flew off the rails with remarkable speed. There was practically no negotiation.
After playing 62 games and helping the California team reach 53 wins, being a key part of the defense, Smart expected the Lakers to value him fairly. Yet, far from feeling that way, he now admits that the offer they presented was directly “disrespectful,” even more so when seeing the favorable treatment received by other teammates who performed much worse than him.
“To begin with, I played so well that the offer they finally gave me wasn’t up to my performance, especially when I saw the deals that players who performed much worse than me were getting. Also, they were not willing to offer us the security we were seeking,” he said in a conversation with Varun Shankar of The Houston Chronicle.
Indignation grew quickly in Smart, who chose to forgo his player option and subsequently signed for two years and $12.4 million with the Houston Rockets, something that allows him to be on the court through 2028 — the second year depends on a player option —, in addition to playing close to home (he was born in Texas); that said, he admits that the annual figure is lower than what the Lakers proposed, but those Lakers were seeking a very short-term commitment.
“They’ve given me the opportunity to achieve what I’ve earned and what I’ve worked so hard for. That is a substantial salary considering my family and, obviously, with several years on the contract, right? Or in any case, a high salary for fewer years, but with an option,” he stated.
