MARCUS Smart

In 2025-26 with the Lakers, Smart appeared in 62 games, averaging 28.5 minutes, 9.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.4 blocks, with 1.5 turnovers a night. He shot 39.5 percent from the field, 33.1 percent from three and 82.2 percent from the line, for a true shooting mark of 54.3 percent. His usage rate sat at 15.1 percent, and his plus-minus was a positive 4.1. Those numbers reflect a secondary playmaker and defender role rather than a primary scorer, which lines up with how he's being used now in Houston.

Smart's workload has swung game to game to start 2026-27. On October 15 against Oklahoma City, in a win, he scored 0 points with 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 12.3 minutes, plus-minus of 7.0. On October 11 against Dallas, in a loss, he had his biggest game of the stretch: 20 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in 23.6 minutes, plus-minus of 4.0. On October 9, also against Dallas in a win, he didn't see the floor, logging 0.0 minutes. That's a bench role with his minutes still being sorted out game by game.

Smart is not on the injury report right now. There's no injury history listed for him either. For a 32-year-old guard in his 12th season, staying off the injury report early in the year is a useful sign, and it means his minutes fluctuations so far have been about rotation decisions rather than health.

Smart's name has shown up in a couple of offseason notes columns. A September 24 piece titled 'Rockets Notes' grouped him with Durant, VanVleet and Sengun, though it was a roundup item and not a report of any move. Earlier, a September 15 'Pacific Notes' column also included Smart in a wider roundup touching on Lakers and Warriors coverage. Both are notes-style items, not trade reports, so nothing there should be read as a done deal.