The Wizards traded for Smart last season, and he, by all accounts, provided a positive example to the team’s younger players.

“Lakers star Luka Dončić made a direct recruiting pitch to Marcus Smart this week that resonated with the veteran guard, league sources tell @TheSteinLine, after Smart’s agent Jason Glushon was granted permission by the Wizards to explore potential post-buyout landing spots,” Stein wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

On Saturday, July 19, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that former Boston Celtics fan favorite, Marcus Smart, had agreed to a contract buyout with the Washington Wizards. Charania also noted that Smart, 31, plans to sign a two-year $11 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, meaning he will join his former team's most bitter rivals.