NBA
One Lakers insider predicts a massive change to the starting lineup next season
Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.
All posts by Zach WolpinUpdated1 hour ago on August 08, 2025
The Lakers have a dilemma for the 2025-26 season. Their front office is caught in the middle of a balancing act. Los Angeles wants to keep LeBron James satisfied while also shifting the rebuilding of their team around Luka Doncic.
Doncic recently signed a three-year, $165 million deal with the Lakers. Signifying their intentions of Doncic being the face of the franchise. Recently, one Lakers insider made a bold idea for the team’s starting lineup in 2025-26. The Athletic’s Jovan Buha said Los Angeles should swap Rui Hachimura for Marcus Smart next year.
Would JJ Redick consider playing Marcus Smart over Rui Hachimura?
In 2024-25, Marcus Smart was traded from the Memphis Grizzlies to the Washington Wizards. The veteran guard played in 15 games for Washington and made one start after the trade. This offseason, Smart agreed to a contract buyout with the Wizards. As a free agent, Smart signed a two-year, $11 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. Now, the 31-year-old will be playing meaningful basketball for the first time since 2022-23.
Lakers’ insider Jovan Buha has a bold idea for the starting lineup in 2025-26. He believes head coach JJ Redick should swap Rui Hachimura for Marcus Smart. Hachimura started 57 of his 59 games for the Lakers last season. Budha reasoned that Marcus Smart can guard a point guard through a power forward. Something Rui Hachimura struggles with.
Here was the Lakers’ aggregate minutes breakdown when combining my and Tim’s projections: https://t.co/so0DhkiF4z pic.twitter.com/rr3xU8tOXP
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) August 8, 2025
Jovan Buha explained how Smart could be a starter who plays less than 30 minutes per game. Similar to what Chris Paul did for the Spurs last season. That would leave plenty of minutes for Rui Hachimura to come off the bench and be effective for Los Angeles. Buha predicts that Hachimura could still see 26 minutes off the bench. Slightly less playing time than he saw in 2024-25.
This is a hypothetical change to the starting lineup for the Lakers next season. The team is trying to cash in on the championship window they have while Luka Doncic and LeBron James are together. It’s up to JJ Redick and the coaching staff to make a change to the starting lineup in 2025-26. If Rui Hachimura retains his starting spot, Deandre Ayton is the only newcomer.
