Winners, losers from Dorian Finney-Smith trade to Lakers

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Brooklyn’s holiday sale continues. First, Dennis Schroder was sold off to the Golden State Warriors.

Now another Net is headed cross country: Brooklyn has traded Dorian Finney-Smith to the Lakers, a team in need of a 3&D wing. Let’s break down the winners and losers from this Sunday trade, but first here is how the trade shakes out:

The Lakers receive: Dorian Finney-Smith, Shake Milton
The Nets receive: D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis, three second-round picks (the Lakers’ picks in 2027, 2030 and 2031)

WINNER: Los Angeles Lakers

Watch the Lakers play and one roster weakness that leaps off the page: Their role-players are one-way guys. Austin Reaves, Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish and on down the list are all quality players on one end of the court but a liability on the other. Compare that to contending teams like Oklahoma City or Boston and the difference is stark.

Enter Dorian Finney-Smith, a quality two-way wing heading to a team in need of wing defenders and shooting.

Finney-Smith is averaging 10.4 points a game this season, shooting a career-high 43.5% from 3, and is a plus defender on the perimeter. He will be plug-and-play for the Lakers, quickly stepping into the starting lineup.

The wins don’t stop there for Los Angeles. Shake Milton gives the Lakers a solid veteran point guard off the bench. Plenty of Lakers fans will argue trading away Russell is addition by subtraction (although that overstates things, a little). Plus, the Lakers save a little over $3 million against the salary cap in this trade, giving them more flexibility below the second luxury tax apron for another deal (a big to play next to Anthony Davis, ideally).

Rob Pelinka rightfully has taken criticism for not maxing out the roster around LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but give the man his flowers when they are due — this is a good trade for Los Angeles.

LOSER: Memphis Grizzlies

Less than 24 hours before this trade was announced, league sources had told NBC Sports a trade of Finney-Smith to the Grizzlies for Luke Kennard and John Konchar plus a pick was “inside the five” yard line and just needed to be punched over the goal line.

That never…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/winners-losers-dorian-finney-smith-012932416.html

Author : NBC Sports

Publish date : 2024-12-30 01:29:00

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