Rob Pelinka Gives Response to Marcus Smart's “Disrespectful” Comment

The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to be a very different team heading into the 2026-27 season. While Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves remain the two faces of the franchise, the vast majority of the other roster spots have been filled by newcomers. One of the Lakers' players from last season who left this summer was Marcus Smart.

Earlier in July, Smart signed a two-year, $12.4 million deal with the Houston Rockets. While the Lakers still wanted to keep him around, Smart found their offer "disrespectful" and declined to accept it. In a recent interview with the Houston Chronicle's Varun Shankar, the veteran guard revealed why he ultimately chose the Rockets over the Lakers.

"First off, I played so well that the offer that was ultimately given didn’t match the way that I played," Smart said. "Especially when you see guys who played way worse than I did, the offers they’re getting. And then it wasn’t any security that we wanted that they were willing to do."

Shankar also noted that the Lakers offered Marcus a higher salary than the Rockets did. Smart declined to reveal the exact details. Nevertheless, he simply couldn't stand how Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka treated him.

Speaking of Pelinka, he had the opportunity to respond to Smart's comments about the Lakers' "disrespectful" offer. During the Lakers' start-of-season press conference on Thursday, Rob noted that they wanted a much younger lineup heading into the new season.

"We wanted to go younger and add more depth," Pelinka said. "One of the things we really wanted to lean into was a team that lined up in age with Luka and AR, and we want this team to grow together. We were very intentional to get younger and deeper."

True enough, Pelinka achieved that goal. According to the Orange County Register, the Lakers have an average age of approximately 25.5 years old. The only 30-year-old on the team is Kevon Looney. Next to him are Reaves, 28 and Doncic, 27. Smart, at 32, simply didn't align with the Lakers' vision.

Rob Pelinka Sets Expectations For Lakers' 2026-27 Season

We are a little less than a month away from the commencement of the 2026-27 season. Over the summer, NBA teams have done everything in their power to revamp and restrategize their rosters in hopes of contending for a title in the 2027 NBA Playoffs.

One of the teams that many are intrigued by is the Los Angeles Lakers. This is because it'll be the first time in eight years that the Lakers will play without LeBron James. Leading the charge are Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

With Doncic and Reaves leading the Lakers for the first time without the King by their side, everyone wants to know what to expect from the new lineup. Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka opened up about the expectations for his new team this coming season in the start-of-season press conference on Thursday.

"We don't have the luxury (of losing seasons to secure high draft picks) here," Pelinka said about his Lakers. "Again, the expectations are, every year, win, get in the playoffs, make a run, and we feel like we've been able to do that... We've been a playoff team, and we have to continue to be that."

Whatever the case may be, all Lakers fans can do for now is wait and see how things transpire in the first few months of the 2026-27 season.