The Los Angeles Lakers have their eyes on Brooklyn Nets‘ versatile 3-and-D wing Dorian Finney-Smith, Anthony Irwin of Clutchpoints reported.
“The Lakers checked in on Dorian Finney-Smith last year and have been in kind of constant contact with the Nets about him,” Irwin said during the November 25 episode of the “Lakers Lounge” show on X with his guest, Bleacher Report and The Stein Line’s “People Insider” Jake Fischer.
Irwin added that Finney-Smith is a more realistic trade target for the Lakers than Cam Johnson, whom the Nets highly value.
“Cam Johnson is another name that comes to mind, but his asking price is kind of tough for the Lakers to match,” Irwin said.
Finney-Smith’s versatility on defense, especially on the perimeter, is what this current Lakers roster lacks since they dumped Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and let Alex Caruso walk.
Jarred Vanderbilt could be that defensive presence for the Lakers, but there is still no timetable for his return from his foot surgery.
Finney-Smith is also a much better offensive player than Vanderbilt, who has a very limited range.
The 6-foot-7 Nets forward is shooting 41% from the 3-point line, making 2.3 3-pointers per game.
A scenario of having Finney-Smith and sharpshooter rookie Dalton Knecht in the Lakers’ starting lineup would open the floor for their stars Anthony Davis and LeBron James.
Finney-Smith is averaging 10.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and nearly a steal per game. But the most important aspect of his game.
Dorian Finney-Smith Can Also Play Small-Ball Center
Nets rookie coach Jordi Fernandez has been deploying Finney-Smith as a small-ball center, especially in the lineups with Ben Simmons.
Finney-Smith could give Lakers first-year head coach JJ Redick optionality in his rotations.
The 31-year-old veteran should start next to Davis if the Lakers can pull off such a trade. But Redick can also have Finney-Smith play small-ball center in lineups without Davis or pair him with Jaxson Hayes in the second unit.
The 220-lb. Finney-Smith is strong enough to defend power forwards and centers and agile enough to defend perimeter players.
Finney-Smith has two years left in his four-year, $55.5 million player option. He can become an unrestricted free agent after this season if he declines to pick up his $15.4 million player option for next season.
The Lakers have D’Angelo Russell’s $18.6 million expiring contract as the salary ballast in the trade. The negotiation will ultimately go down to what draft capital the Lakers are willing to attach to it.
They have two future first-round picks (2029 and 2031), three picks swaps (2026, 2028 and 2030) and five second-round picks until 2031 at their disposal to improve their current roster.
Nets Among Teams Interested in Jalen Hood-Schifino
Another trade chip for the Lakers is Jalen Hood-Schifino‘s expiring contract after they did not pick up the third-year option on his rookie deal.
The 17th overall of last year’s NBA draft, Hood-Schifino has not gotten the opportunity to develop with the Lakers.
Hood-Schifino will likely be involved in any Finney-Smith trade talks as the Nets are one of the three teams who have expressed interest in him in the past, according to Fischer in a separate live stream at Bleacher Report on November 2.
“He will be playing in the G League this year and he’ll have plenty of opportunity to showcase himself both in the G League in general and at the G League Showcase when the entire league descends upon Orlando in December,” Fischer said. “Atlanta had interest in him in that talk with Dejounte [Murray] last year. Utah, I believe, has shown interest in him, to my knowledge, in those talks about Walker Kessler. Brooklyn, I’ve been told, is a team that has interest in him. So, just keep an eye on Jalen Hood-Schifino as a potential outgoing salary expiring deal.”
