Dorian Finney-Smith did not end his Los Angeles Lakers’ journey on a good note. The veteran forward signed a four-year, $53 million deal with the Houston Rockets, as he failed to make a successful deal of two years with the Lakers.
Finney-Smith averaged 7.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game last season. He shot 44.2 % from the field and 39.8% from the field. The big man was known for his elite perimeter defense. The Lakers acquired him in exchange for D’Angelo Russell in midseason.
According to The Ringer’s Zach Lowe, the Lakers and Finney-Smith did not meet their expectations, and negotiations went badly. “On Saturday, I said, ‘Keep an eye on the Finney-Smith situation. That will tell me how the Lakers are thinking about things.’ Because I heard that negotiations were going badly,” he said. “And I asked if he would even opt out. Do the Lakers even want to pay him? The answer to that turned out to be no, they didn’t want to pay him, and he opted out, and I don’t think they ended on very good terms.”
Though the Lakers have already started to find their centerpiece and secured Jake LaRavia and Deandre Ayton to fill Finney-Smith’s void, their core will feel the defensive gap. His departure underscores a renaissance offseason for the Lakers, while sources say Luka Doncic’s involvement is the big reason for what the team is doing this summer.
Kevin Durant Shares His Straightforward Opinion On Dorian Finney-Smith
The Houston Rockets secured Finney-Smith as a defensive boost in free agency. At the same time, Kevin Durant dropped his opinion of him, which is noticeable.
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In a recent podcast of Mind The Game, Kevin Durant highlighted Finney-Smith’s limitations. He bluntly stated, “Two seconds on the clock, and we’re giving it to Dorian Finney-Smith with two seconds on the clock … I mean, they can hit it for sure. But that’s not a sustainable offense for us going forward.”
Durant’s comments sounded more like criticism. But after all, the big man is in the Rockets’ depth for his role-player strengths. He can come up and fire back with an excellent knock, and his team believes in him.
