The Los Angeles Lakers turned over their roster in the offseason, losing five rotation players from last year’s team that finished fourth in the West and won their first-round series against the Houston Rockets.

The turnover was designed to put the right pieces around superstar Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

While much of their moves made sense and added depth, one big loss was Marcus Smart, who thrived next to Doncic and Reaves and was a key part of their first-round victory over the Rockets.

Smart is now with the Rockets, signing a two-year, $12.4 million deal to reunite with Ime Udoka, his head coach in Boston.

Speaking to the media, Smart was asked about his departure from the Lakers.

He said that he thought he played well enough to be offered a decent deal, but “they wanted to go in a different direction.” Smart noted that the Lakers “wanted to go younger,” so that’s what they did.

Smart declined his player option worth $5.4 million, seemingly hoping the Lakers would give him a pay bump after the season he had. Instead, according to him, the offer wasn’t good enough, and he went elsewhere.

Smart averaged 9.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, and three assists on 39% shooting from the field and 33% from three. In the playoffs, he averaged 12.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 5.1 assists on 39% from the field and 34% from three.

The team was much better with him on the floor than they were with him off the floor, as he had a +8.9 net rating, which was the highest number on the Lakers.

Doncic, Reaves, and Smart had a +23.2 net rating in 434 minutes together.

Smart is 32 and has a lot of miles on his body thanks to injuries and playoff battles as a member of the Boston Celtics.

The Lakers brought in a handful of two-way wings, hoping that one of them will be able to provide the same value as Smart. Quentin Grimes is 26, Ziaire Williams is 25, and Matisse Thybulle is 29. They even drafted Cameron Carr, 22, at the end of the first round.

All have two-way value and are a similar mold to Smart, but only Grimes has proven to have the same kind of game-to-game impact that Smart had on the team.

If one of those players can step up and fill Smart’s role, the Lakers will be satisfied with their decision, but of all the players they lost in the offseason, Smart’s absence might be felt the most.