The Lakers are set to sign veteran guard Marcus Smart to a two-year, $11 million deal. In order to make room for the veteran guard, a pair of younger players had to go.
Earlier Sunday, Los Angeles waived 28-year-old guard Shake Milton, who spent 30 games with the Lakers in 2024–25 after being acquired from the Nets. Milton's $3 million salary was set to become guaranteed before the move, per ESPN's Shams Charania.
Rob Pelinka & Co. followed up that move by waiving Jordan Goodwin on Sunday night, Charania reported. The 26-year-old signed a two-way deal with L.A. last season, and worked his way into the rotation, averaging 18.7 minutes per game on 29 appearances with five starts. He averaged 5.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, knocking down over 38% of his three-pointers for the Lakers. He'd go on to appear in four of the team's five playoff games.
The two moves were pretty essential in order to fit Smart onto the roster while maintaining cap flexibility. Per ESPN's Bobby Marks, the team is now just about $1 million under the first apron with Smart, after waiving both Milton and Goodwin.
The addition of Smart is the latest Luka Doncic-influenced addition for L.A. as he takes over the mantle of the franchise's central star from LeBron James. Doncic reportedly reached out to Smart expressing his desire to play with him. Now, Pelinka's front office has made the moves necessary to bring in the former Defensive Player of the Year and Celtics standout.
More NBA on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Lakers Waive Second Player of Day to Make Space for Marcus Smart Signing.