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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.
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…
[ad_2]Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/lakers-reportedly-trade-dangelo-russell-182303212.html
Author : NBC Sports
Publish date : 2024-12-29 18:23:00
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