According to Charania, Luka Doncic played a direct role in the acquisition. The report revealed that the All-NBA guard personally reached out to Smart and helped recruit him to Los Angeles. “Lakers All-NBA star Luka Doncic reached out to Smart and made it clear that he wanted to play with the two-way stalwart,” Charania wrote.

While other teams like the Suns and Bucks reportedly pursued Smart as a free agent, turns out, Luka Doncic helped recruit Smart to Los Angeles. Per ESPN’s Shams Charania, Doncic "reached out to Smart and made it clear that he wanted to play with the two-way stalwart."