Houston Rockets guard Marcus Smart is happy to be back home in the Lone Star State, but he had some choice words for his most recent NBA stop.
Smart says the Los Angeles Lakers' offer to retain him this summer was "disrespectful," even though they were willing to pay him more money than the Rockets eventually did.
The 12-year veteran declined to specify the Lakers' contract proposal.
"First off, I played so well that the offer that was ultimately given didn't match the way that I played, especially when you see guys who played way worse than I did, the offers they're getting," Smart told Varun Shankar of the Houston Chronicle this week. "And then it wasn't any security that we wanted that they were willing to do."
Houston inked Smart to a two-year, $12.4-million contract that includes a $6.4-million player option for 2027-28.
The sixth overall pick of the 2014 draft averaged 9.3 points, three assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.4 steals across 62 appearances during his lone campaign in Los Angeles.
Looking ahead, Smart is eager to prove the Rockets right and show why he's deserving of a lucrative contract.
"They gave me an opportunity to be able to go out and try to get what I've earned," Smart said. "And what I've been working my tail off to provide for my family is a decent-sized paycheck with, obviously, years on it, right? Or a big paycheck with less years but to be able to have that option."
