As the summer inches closer to its end, the 2025-2026 NBA season is beginning to take shape. Teams are making moves left and right, including the Lakers, who recently added Marcus Smart to bolster the team’s defense after a first-round exit this past postseason.
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Where will the one-time DPOY fit in? Allie Clifton, Chris McGee and Mike Bresnahan see many options for the 31-year-old star.
The trio of Lakers insiders discussed the Purple and Gold’s newest roster member during the Lakers’ Show on Sports Spectrum. McGee suggested that Smart would most likely be slotted into the 6th man role. However, he did ask a question that might make LA reconsider their early roster strategy with Smart.
“What if you need defense? Maybe Marcus breaks into the starting lineup,” stated McGee. Bresnahan not only entertained the idea that head coach J.J. Redick could utilize Smart early on, but even figured out who could take the bench in his place.
Starter or 6th Man?
Marcus Smart’s role in the Lakers rotation is up for debate.
Defense, leadership… and maybe even closing games?
We break it all down on the latest #LakeShowPodcast
️ https://t.co/vVnVozC10z pic.twitter.com/Sc8dHJEQGW— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) July 26, 2025
“Okay, Austin Reaves, you’re used to coming off the bench. I’m sure he won’t like this, but Marcus Smart … they need some defense. If he can show that he’s healthy,” McGee said, “he can knock down some 3s every once in a while. He didn’t play a lot last season, but he shot pretty well from deep.”
Clifton confirmed this notion, revealing that Smart shot 35% from behind the arc in 2024-2025, which is an improvement over his career 32% rating. That said, Bresnahan does still believe that Smart will begin his tenure in the 6th man role, but he wouldn’t be surprised if they change it up and put Reaves on the sidelines similar to what they’ve done in the past.
“I think Smart is the 6th man and maybe a spot starter here or there. Maybe they take a longer look at him in the starting lineup. I don’t know if it’s Ruri who would go to the bench. Probably more like Austin because Ruri you give up a lot of size,” Bresnahan explained.
There’s no right or wrong answer here. It would seem odd to bench Reaves, who has been arguably one of the Lakers more exciting players to watch aside from LeBron and Luka over the past few years. But LA has struggled to get over the hump. Their late season dominance didn’t really matter after getting gentleman’s swept in the first round by Minnesota.
Bresnahan has been watching the Lakers long enough to recognize this pattern, so his prediction is pretty likely to come true. What’s good about this is the symmetry between Smart and several of his new teammates, including The Don, who personally recruited him. That type of reach shows Laker fans that Doncic is in it for the long run and has already given Marcus a ton of confidence.
