The Lakers sign Smart with a rating of B: More likely to earn trust than Goodwin, reducing flexibility during the season.

On July 20, Beijing time, the Lakers confirmed that they would sign Smart to a two-year, $11 million contract. Previously, Smart had reached a buyout agreement with the Wizards and will officially sign with the Lakers after the clearing period. ESPN subsequently rated this signing for the Lakers as a B and provided analysis—

After splitting the full mid-level exception between center Ayton and forward LaRavia, the Lakers still have a biannual exception available, allowing them to offer Smart a contract higher than the veteran minimum. This buyout agreement will free him from the obligations of the final season of his contract with the Wizards.

Essentially, Smart will replace Goodwin and Milton—both of whom have non-guaranteed contracts, meaning the team must cut them to create space for Smart under the lower luxury tax threshold hard cap.(Milton's $3 million salary was scheduled to become guaranteed on Sunday local time).

Although Goodwin and Milton occasionally entered the rotation in the second half of last season, they both received limited playing time in the first round of the playoffs against the Timberwolves, as Redick relied more on his starters. Goodwin played 31 minutes in the series, while Milton only played 4 minutes. Given Smart's resume—including 108 playoff games with the Celtics and the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year honor—he is more likely to earn Redick's trust and improve the team's weak perimeter depth.

The key question is, what kind of Smart will the Lakers get?He struggled in the first half of last season with the Memphis Grizzlies, shooting only 36%. The Grizzlies then traded him to Washington at the trade deadline in exchange for an expiring contract.

In his two seasons with the Grizzlies, Smart played only 39 games due to multiple injuries, and his impact on both ends of the floor was not as strong as during his time with the Celtics. Despite being only 6'3", his tough playing style allows him to defend opponents much taller than himself.

In the 15 games he played for the Wizards, Smart showed some signs of revival. At 31 years old, although his career three-point shooting percentage is only 32% (not an excellent shooter), his shooting volume (5.9 attempts every 36 minutes) means that defenses need to pay him more attention than Goodwin—who had a regular-season three-point shooting percentage of 38% (with a small sample size) but failed to make a single three-pointer in the playoffs.

Having Melton play the "3D" role in the Lakers' backcourt might be more appropriate, but he will head to other teams (reports suggest he may return to the Golden State Warriors after a brief stint ended last season due to an ACL surgery), sosigning Smart at a reasonable price makes sense as a B plan for Los Angeles.

Signing Smart will reduce the Lakers' flexibility to increase salaries during the season.Currently, the team has 14 players signed, leaving about $1 million until the hard salary cap. The Lakers won't be able to fill the last NBA roster spot until January, and they will face challenges in making trades that involve "income salary exceeding expenditure salary."