The Los Angeles Lakers acquired forward Dorian Finney-Smith and guard Shake Milton from the Brooklyn Nets over the weekend and head coach JJ Redick will have both at his disposal when the Lakers host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.
Going from the Nets to the bright lights of the Lakers will be a bit of an adjustment, but Redick and the coaching staff will look to make that as easy as possible. Redick is already familiar with Finney-Smith as the two were teammates briefly with the Dallas Mavericks. There have already been clips circulating of Redick praising the forward and that only gives Finney-Smith more confidence as he joins his new team.
“It gives you a lot of confidence because he knows what you can do so you ain’t got to go out there and try to do nothing you can’t. So I just go out there and be me,” Finney-Smith said after Lakers practice on Monday. “Sometimes what I do, like you say, won’t show up in the stat sheet. But as long as we win, I’m happy. So that’s all I want to do here is win, bring good vibes, bring that winning mentality, and have fun doing it.”
The best role players are usually ones who understand their role and focus on doing that job as opposed to play beyond their skillset. Finney-Smith isn’t focused on stats, but simply contributing to winning with his defense and spot-up shooting and he will get ample opportunities to provide a positive impact for the Lakers.
Similar to Finney-Smith, Milton has a previous connection with Redick as the two were teammates on the Philadelphia 76ers. That makes him confident that the Lakers coach will help in his transition and feels that communication between them will help everything go smoothly.
“I think it will be smooth,” Milton said. “Knowing the type of guy JJ is too, I know that I’ll be able to come to him and communicate and really get a feel of what he’s seeing on the floor and what he’s expecting of me, what he wants me to do.
“So I think that will really be the biggest thing I’m looking forward to doing. And on top of that, JJ was a hooper, he knows how to play ball and when you’re out there on the court, things kind of translate. I think it’s gonna make the transition a little more smooth.”
Milton hasn’t gotten as much attention as Finney-Smith, but the 6’5 combo guard is a capable scorer and solid defender who is shooting just under 39% from deep this season. With D’Angelo Russell gone and Gabe Vincent dealing with an injury, he has the opportunity to slide right into some decent minutes and getting acclimated quickly should hopefully allow for him to thrive immediately for this Lakers team.
Dorian Finney-Smith excited to play ‘meaningful’ basketball for Lakers
Both Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton have gone from a Nets team that wasn’t expected to be good to a Lakers team that expects to compete for a championship every season. And for Finney-Smith, the chance to play ‘meaningful’ games is a welcome change.
“I’m excited. I’m back to playing some meaningful basketball,” Finney-Smith said. “It’s been a while, but I’m excited, especially if I can go tomorrow.”
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