The Washington Wizards have made an abundance of moves this offseason, including the decision to buyout Marcus Smart.
Washington landed Smart ahead of the NBA trade deadline in February as part of a last second effort by the Memphis Grizzlies to move on from the veteran guard.
Smart made a career for himself with the Boston Celtics, where he continuously proved to be one of the best defensive-minded players in the league.
As a former Defensive Player of the Year and the first guard to win the award since Gary Payton, it only goes to show just how impressive the former Oklahoma State standout has been on that side of the court.
Obviously, when Washington landed Smart, the team had no plans to keep him on the roster for the long-term future and in large part the sole reason for helping Memphis offload his contract was due to the first-round pick attached alongside his name in the deal.
Nonetheless, landing him to mentor the group of young players on the roster, especially backcourt prospects in Bub Carrington and Bilal Coulibaly were an intriguing part of the deal making it a much easier move for general manager Will Dawkins to make.
The 31-year-old only managed to suit up for 15 games with the Wizards during his time in D.C., which alone was a bit unfortunate considering his lack of time to mentor the team's young core on the court.
Off the court mentoring is one thing, but being able to take players under your wing on the court is another.
One player in specific who could have truly benefitted from playing alongside Smart is defensive standout Bilal Coulibaly.
The idea of Coulibaly learning under Smart seemed like a no-brainer, but between the French product's season getting cut short due to a hamstring injury and Smart dealing with injury woes of his own, that never got the chance to happen.
Washington could have elected to keep Smart on the roster to enter the 2025-26 season and wait until the trade deadline to offload his contract to give the veteran extended time to mentor their young core, while also extending a time frame for them to find a trade partner for him instead of losing him for nothing.
However, the Wizards opted to let Smart go courtesy of a buyout, which paved way for him to immediately sign with the Los Angeles Lakers upon clearing waivers.
The Wizards could look back and regret their decision to not allow for Smart to get the chance and leave his lasting impact on the organization's young core.