Marcus Smart Reportedly Declines $5.4M Lakers Contract Option Amid Rockets Rumors in NBA Free Agency

Marcus Smart had a solid first season with the Los Angeles Lakers, but he may not be running it back.

The veteran guard declined his $5.4 million player option on Monday, per ESPN's Shams Charania, allowing him to hit the market as an unrestricted free agent. The Houston Rockets loom as a potential suitor.

Smart, 32, averaged 9.3 points, three assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 62 games this season, shooting 39.5 percent from the field and 33.1 percent from three. His defensive impact and leadership was important for a Lakers team that reached the Western Conference Semifinals before running into the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who swept them.

Head coach JJ Redick clearly viewed Smart as an important figure in the locker room.

"Him and I had a conversation coming off those three losses... in San Francisco," Redick told reporters in April. "I'm not going to share the details, but the biggest thing was just he, because he has the voice he has, he can help create the belief and the confidence in our group. I think he's done that."

"Me and JJ, we talk all the time, right," Smart added at the time. "Constantly talking to the staff to see what I can do to help. The coaches aren't out there and I try to be that quarterback out there for the coaches, relaying messages, getting everybody together. That talk was just, to sum it up, was really just, 'Hey, go play basketball, be you.' To be able to have him trust me and then not only that, to have this team and these guys trust me to be able to do that, it's something that I'm grateful for. It shows a lot. It shows the camaraderie. It shows the long way that we came and we're going to continue to trust them."

The Lakers came into the summer with plenty of question marks, given the uncertainty surrounding LeBron James' future. But at least one question has been answered regarding Smart's future. While he could ultimately re-sign with the team, other free-agent suitors will now get a crack at enticing him too.