Heading into the postseason, Lakers wing Luke Kennard was a 29-year-old journeyman shooter whose ability to knock down 3-pointers assured he had a place in the league, but was seen as a player who did not do much else but launch deep balls. Indeed, he led the league in 3-point shooting this year, at 47.8%, and 3.1 of his 5.7 shot attempts per game were 3s.
Marcus Smart was in a similar stage as Kennard two weeks ago. Smart is still a valuable piece because of his defensive prowess, but he is a streaky shooter who has been hampered by injuries and, at age 32, was not seen as an ideal No. 2 point guard. He averaged 3.0 assists this season, fewest of his 12-year career.
Both Smart, who signed with the Lakers before the season, and Kennard (acquired in a trade deadline deal) filled their roles nicely during the Lakers’ second-half run. But in the playoffs, things have changed, with both Smart and Kennard being asked to take on bigger roles thanks to injuries to Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic. And in pushing the Lakers to a 3-0 lead over the Rockets, they’ve been nailing it.
Lakers Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard Excelling in Playoffs
It’s only a three-game sample, of course, but it’s been enough to make folks around the NBA reconsider both Smart and Kennard, if they can continue at something close to the level they’ve been at while the Lakers work Reaves and, presumably, Doncic back into the lineup.
Smart is averaging 20.3 points and 8.3 assists in three playoff games, shooting 52.9% from the field. He also has notched 3.7 steals and is playing 36.0 minutes. Kennard, for his part, has done a pretty nice Reaves impression, averaging 21.3 points on 55.3% shooting (52.9% from 3). He also has had 5.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
Free Agency Looming for Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard
It turns out, it’s good timing for both Kennard and Smart. Smart has an option on his contract with the Lakers this summer, and can become a free agent. Kennard, making $11 million this season, will also be a free agent this summer.
At $5.3 million, Smart could almost certainly earn more money by opting out and re-signing, either with the Lakers or heading elsewhere.
“You take it with a grain of salt, but I think for both of those guys, what we’ve seen so far is, OK, maybe they’re not where we had them pigeonholed,” one Western Conference executive said. “You know, Marcus was in Washington, he was in Memphis and those are tough situations for a guy who wants to win so badly. So we’re seeing him back as a winning player and a leader and guy you just kind of want on your team.
“Luke has always been more versatile than he gets credit for but he does not get a chance to show it much. Now, he is putting that on display a little bit. He is a secondary ballhandler. He is defending. The thing about both of these guys, they’re probably making themselves some real money in free agency.”
Lakers Focus on Rockets
How much money is debatable, but it might get difficult for the Lakers to keep both Kennard and Smart this summer–or maybe either. The free-agent class is weak in 2026, and the exec speculated that mid-level contracts could be in the offing for both Smart and Kennard.
That won’t be the focus here in the short term for Smart or Kennard, not with the Lakers on the brink of a shocking upset in this first round, and with a potential matchup against the Thunder juggernaut looming.
Smart said his focus is only on the Rockets: ““It’s not over. We got one more. We’re in their home and nobody wants to get embarrassed in their home. We got them in a nail-biter tonight, so it’s one more. We can’t worry about what happens after that because we got to take care of [the game]. We’ll worry about that after the game. Right now, Sunday is the only thing on our mind.”
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