Asked by Yossi Gozlan during an episode of The Third Apron podcast if the Lakers essentially chose Collin Sexton over Marcus Smart in free agency, Lakers insider Jovan Buha suggested that the former Defensive Player of the Year may not have been enthusiastic about re-signing in Los Angeles.

“I don’t have great clarity on this, and there’s differing accounts of how it all went down,” Buha said (YouTube link; hat tip to LakersNation). “But my understanding is that, to some degree, Smart was ready to move forward in a different situation.”

Early in the morning on July 1, Smart accepted a two-year, $12.4MM offer from the Rockets that includes a second-year player option. Several hours later, word broke that the Lakers had reached deals deals with Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili, and Sexton, who signed a two-year, $19.2MM contract with L.A.

We have more from around the Pacific:

• Within a speculative discussion about which impact players could emerge as Warriors’ trade targets within the next year or two, Tim Kawakami noted on his Warriors Plus Minus podcast (19:04 mark) that Golden State is high on Suns star Devin Booker, whom Steve Kerr coached during the 2024 Olympics. “I think the Warriors like him too much, if you ask me,” Kawakami said. “But they love him. Steve loves him. Booker loved playing for Steve.”
• Addressing the recent addition of Ben Simmons on a non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract, Kings general manager Scott Perry said he’s excited to “help be a part of his journey to get back on the court,” as Sean Cunningham of KCRA News relays (Twitter video link). “Knock on wood, he’s healthy right now,” Perry said. “I know it’s been a long journey to get back to that point. (It’s exciting) just being able to be a part of that with him and hopefully watch him get back on the basketball floor and do some of the things that made him such a special player early in his career.” Second-year Kings guard Nique Clifford added that he believes Simmons will be a player he can “learn from,” since the former No. 1 overall pick has been through “highs and lows” over the course of his NBA career.
• Steve Ballmer’s decision not to pursue legal action against the NBA after initially vowing to fight its sanctions for cap circumvention is a logical one, according to Michael McCann of Sportico, who observes that any litigation brought by the Clippers would “open the door to judicial scrutiny of transactions that now appear to be of interest to federal investigators.”