Going into the trade deadline, one of the Lakers’ top priorities was to land a two-way wing who can knock down some 3s but, more importantly, give the Lakers a quality defender on the perimeter.
Enter Dorian Finney-Smith.
While rumors of Smith heading to Memphis were swirling, the Lakers swooped in and made the rebuilding Nets a better offer: The Lakers are sending former Net D’Angelo Russell back to Brooklyn — where he was an All-Star — along with Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks for Finney-Smith and backup point guard Shake Milton, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN and since confirmed by the teams.
This trade is a win for the Lakers on several fronts. They have been eyeing Finney-Smith for a couple of years, and they landed the coveted 3&D wing without giving up a first-round pick in the process.
Finney-Smith is an impactful two-way wing, the likes of which the Lakers have needed (they hoped Jarred Vanderbilt could be that guy, but he has yet to be healthy this season). Finney-Smith is averaging 10.4 points a game, shooting a career-high 43.5% from 3-point range this season, and would be plug-and-play as a plus defender on the wing. The 6'7" Smith will step into the starting lineup and replace either Max Christie — who has played well as a starter bringing needed athleticism to the roster, but is the logical choice to move back to the bench — or Rui Hachimura.
Beyond that, Milton steps in and provides solid backup point guard play off the bench — he’s not the scorer Russell is going out the door, but the Lakers don’t need him to be. They needed more shooting and defense. Last night, in a win over the Kings (without LeBron James), the Lakers leaned on an Austin Rivers/Anthony Davis two-man game to get buckets, with Russell predominantly working off the ball. Smith is a better off-ball fit. For the Lakers, losing Russell could be addition by subtraction.
The Lakers also save money with this trade — a little more than $3 million — and they are now about $3.5 million below the second apron, giving them flexibility to make another move (the target likely is a big, ideally a stretch five, to play next to Anthony Davis).
Brooklyn gets three of the Lakers own second-round picks — 2027 (depending on a Lakers-first rounder owed to Utah that year), 2030 and 2031 — which could be good ones as the Lakers will have to rebuild after LeBron walks away. Maxwell Lewis is a second-year wing with some potential but only $100,000 guaranteed for next season, if the Nets want to move on.
Then there is Russell — traded for the fifth time in his 10-year career — who will happily come in and take all the shots the Nets are willing to give him as they make trades and tank focus on the upcoming draft the rest of the season. Russell would be a buyout candidate in most situations like this, but that’s not likely the case here. Russell makes $18.7 million this season — more than the mid-level exception — and because of that he cannot sign with a team over the first luxury tax apron, or with any team where his salary would put them over that line, which is pretty much every playoff team worth mentioning.
