Patrick Beverley thinks Marcus Smart will have ‘stunning’ year with Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers guard Marcus Smart has experienced somewhat of a fall from grace in recent years. Ever since the Boston Celtics traded him in the 2023 offseason, injuries and a lack of time on the floor have held back Smart from making a significant impact at the highest level.

Across his last two seasons in the league, he has played just 54 games combined. However, former Lakers guard Patrick Beverley is someone who’s apparently bullish on the team’s move to sign Smart to a two-year deal earlier in the offseason. Beverley said that he thinks the former Defensive Player of the Year will enjoy a “stunning” campaign in a Laker uniform.

“The sleeper of this whole pickup was Marcus Smart,” Beverley said. “Marcus Smart has something to prove. It’s different, right? You talk about Marcus Smart dealing with injury. Yeah, he got Defensive Player of the Year. Is he the same player? Is he gonna defend it like that?

“People don’t understand, after the trade deadline, this month and a half, Marcus Smart was playing some really good basketball with the [Washington] Wizards. People don’t understand that. And…he has motivation to get a new contract. He has motivation to get back to the Marcus Smart that people know he is. So, I think he’s gonna have a stunning year.”

Smart played just 15 games with the Wizards last season after the Memphis Grizzlies traded him there, but he did give folks plenty to like about his quality of play in that small sample size.

The 31-year-old is only a career 32.4 percent 3-point shooter and has always been streaky from that distance, but he had it going from deep in his short time as a Wizard. He connected on 39.2 percent of his 3s on 3.4 attempts per contest. The Lakers would love it if he could carry over his red-hot shooting with Washington into his stint with the storied franchise.

Smart also averaged 4.9 assists per 36 minutes as a Wizard and showed that he can still serve as a solid playmaker at times.

The No. 6 overall pick back in the 2014 NBA Draft could be thrust into a significant role from the get-go with all of the gaps L.A.’s starting backcourt of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves has on the defensive end. Lakers insider Jovan Buha looked at the team’s starting five from a defensive lens and claimed that Smart should be in the starting lineup instead of forward Rui Hachimura.

Maybe Smart will prove Beverley right by having a stunning year and getting back to being the highly effective two-way player he was back when he played for the Celtics. A reinvigorated Smart could massively help the Lakers’ chances to compete in the Western Conference.