LOS ANGELES — When Dorian Finney-Smith first joined the Lakers after being acquired in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets in late December, he expressed eagerness to get back to playing “meaningful basketball.”
The veteran forward was coming off playing for a Nets team that went 32-50 in 2023-24, missing the Play-In Tournament, and started the 2024-25 with a 12-20 record before Brooklyn traded Finney-Smith, along with Shake Milton, to the Lakers for D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second-round draft picks.
So even though the Lakers’ 2024-25 ended earlier than the team would have liked with a first-round playoff exit in five games courtesy of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Finney-Smith expressed gratitude for the journey he experienced in his first few months with his new team.
“Being here has been amazing,” the 32-year-old said during his end-of-season media availability. “Making it to [No. 3] seed, been fun. Luka [Doncic] coming in in February was a big surprise to many, especially me. Happy to be back with my dog. Just mad right now, though, that our season ended.”
The Lakers’ acquisition of Finney-Smith was one of the pivotal parts of their 2024-25 season – with the most significant being trading for Doncic six weeks after Finney-Smith.
They were 18-13 before trading for Finney-Smith. The Lakers went 29-14 in the 43 regular-season games in which Finney-Smith played.
Even though his season-long averages for the Lakers don’t stand out (7.9 points – 44.2% shooting; 39.8% from 3-point range, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 28.8 minutes), the impact of his versatility was felt immediately.
“He’s a worker, he’s a pro,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said during the season. “You can’t have enough Dorian Finney-Smiths on your team.”
Finney-Smith was crucial for the success of the Lakers’ center-less lineups, guarding up and down the positional spectrum and providing spacing for the Lakers’ primary ball-handlers.
His value was reflected in having the team’s second-best season-long individual plus/minus per game of plus-6.2, behind only Doncic at plus-6.3.
“A level of toughness, certainly the communication and the spirit to want to defend,” Redick said of what Finney-Smith added to the Lakers. “Guys have responded well to who he is as a player, a teammate, a person. And he’s just fit right in.
“But our season kind of turned around, and the energy and the spirit of our group turned around when we got him.”
Finney-Smith’s future with the Lakers is, mostly, in his hands.
He has a $15.4 million player option for the 2025-26 season that he has to decide on by June 30.
If Finney-Smith doesn’t pick up the player option, he’ll officially become an unrestricted free agent when free agency starts on June 30. He would then be able to re-sign with the Lakers on a new contract or sign with another team.
He has also been eligible for a contract extension since mid-February.
Finney-Smith’s value to the Lakers was clear this past season.
Whether he stays with the Lakers, and how he does, will be one of the many subplots to keep an eye on during the offseason.