The center and the veteran guard, who became close after joining the Lakers last summer under similar circumstances, have until June 29 to decide if they’ll exercise player options in their contracts for next season.
Center Deandre Ayton, left, and guard Marcus Smart, who became close after joining the Lakers last summer under similar circumstances, have until June 29 to decide if they’ll exercise player options in their contracts for next season.
LOS ANGELES — Over the final quarter of this past season, Lakers teammates Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart rarely got through a press conference without hearing about each other. Smart said Ayton embraced how hard he had been on himself, how hard his teammates had been on him and how hard the media had been on him during the regular season then delivered some of his best basketball during the team’s first-round series victory over the Houston Rockets.
Ayton referred to Smart, a veteran guard who returned to the defensive-tone setter role he’d become known for in his NBA career, as a “brother’s keeper. ” They shared lockers next to each other at Crypto.com Arena and when the team would go on the road.
Despite not knowing each other before joining the Lakers as free agents last summer after their contracts were bought out by their previous teams, they found themselves in the starting lineup together for the majority of the season – building a close bond. Ayton said May 4, before the second-round series started.
“Marcus is the other guy with the grit where discombobulated, he tries to be that guy that puts his arm around you and some of the younger guys. ”. After, as Smart put it, a season when they were “trying to get our names back into the good graces of the basketball gods,” they both hold player options in their contracts for the 2026-27 season.
Ayton played in a career-high 72 regular-season games, but he tallied career-lows of 12.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game while learning how to handle a role-player’s responsibilities rather than carrying the expectations of a former No. 1 overall draft pick on his shoulders . Smart, on the other hand, played in 62 games – his most since his 2021-22 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award-winning campaign with the Boston Celtics – and averaged 9.3 points, 3.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game as he became a cornerstone for the Lakers during their post-All-Star break surge.
Smart has struggled to stay on the court since leaving the Celtics – injured for extended stretches of his previous two seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies and Washington Wizards before joining the Lakers. The 32-year-old played in just 54 games during the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 seasons combined. He did sit out nine of the final 11 regular-season games this season while nursing two injuries .
, I’ve been doing this for 12,” Smart said when asked after the Lakers’ elimination if he would like to remain a teammate with James, who is an unrestricted free agent and could return, retire or move on from the Lakers.
“We’ve seen some things in this league, right? Some things you probably shouldn’t have seen, some things you probably wouldn’t have thought you’d see. … Definitely hope , but we’ll see. ”But when asked about returning to the Lakers at the season’s conclusion, Ayton insisted he hadn’t thought about the issue yet, adding that when it comes to his player option, that he “trusts his agents.
” “It’s probably my first time ever in the position like that really,” Ayton said May 11 of his impending decision, adding that he had been treated like “family” by Lakers staff and teammates. Ayton added: “So that’s why I said I really just trust my agents. Being here in L.A. so far has just been – you just got to come to play and be focused. The crowd and everybody is amazing.
And my teammates and my staff, I’ve been treated with love here. And I won’t change it for nothing, to be honest. ”, that his goal, alongside his coaching staff, was to “pour” into each one of his players – referencing a metaphor of trying to make cells in an organism thrive the best they can. With Ayton, Redick said he felt he accomplished that.
“I know I had a great conversation with D.A. about our relationship and his relationship with my staff, and how important it was for him and how much of a positive experience he had this year with myself and our staff,” Redick said.
“So that’s what it was, just embracing the challenge and pouring into our guys. ” There were sacrifices, Ayton said. The 2025-26 season was a “humbling experience,” he said too. Ayton said he felt that he was able to “break down” his game and focus on rebounding and defending the rim – which he said the Lakers “needed” most.
“For me, just the way I accepted everything and adapted,” Ayton said. “I felt like I’ve grown in some areas where I never thought I was going to really grow up. ”
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