Lakers cut ties with former 1st-round pick before free agency
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The Los Angeles Lakers had a key contract decision to make on Monday.
In the end, they chose not to keep Nick Smith Jr.
Smith had a team option in his contract for the 2026-27 season, but it was declined by the Lakers, according to Spotrac's Keith Smith.
The 6-foot-2 guard was originally the No. 27 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft out of Arkansas by the Charlotte Hornets.
Smith was waived by the Hornets in September 2025, and he signed a two-way contract four days later with the Lakers.
He spent almost the whole season on the two-way deal before it was converted to a standard contract in April.
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Smith played in 30 games with the Lakers, starting one of those.
In 12.5 minutes per night, he averaged 6.2 points.
Smith did shoot a promising 39.5% from 3-point range.
At just 6-foot-2, he's small for a scoring guard.
Smith did show some of his all-around talent in 2024-25 with the Hornets, putting up 9.9 points and 2.4 assists per game.
He's still just 22 years old, so there's a chance for Smith to stick around the NBA.
The Lakers, though, appear to want to use his roster space on a different potential player. They could also sign Smith to a different contract if that's the way the free agent process takes them, but for now, he's heading to the open market.