Dorian Finney-Smith was Luka Dončić’s favorite teammate ever on the Dallas Mavericks, something Luka has publicly announced multiple times.
If that wasn’t reason enough for Dallas to keep Finney-Smith in a Mavs uniform as long as possible, his performance on the court has also shown why Dallas should have never traded him.
Finney-Smith was traded on Sunday from the Brooklyn Nets to the Los Angeles Lakers. LA had to send three second-rounders and D’Angelo Russell’s expiring $18.7 cap hit to Brooklyn to pry away Finney-Smith, a more than respectable package that highlighted Finney-Smith’s robust value on the market.
Various contenders were reportedly interested in acquiring DFS, and for good reason. The 31-year-old wing is shooting 43.5 percent from three this season and continues to defend four positions at the highest level — basically what a championship role player looks like on paper.
He’ll be a huge addition to the Lakers as they look to contend once again around LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Yes, the Mavericks acquired Kyrie Irving by trading Finney-Smith to the Nets back in February 2023. No one would claim that Dallas shouldn’t have acquired Irving.
But if the Mavericks had been able to do so without giving up DFS, they would have been in a better position to defeat the Boston Celtics in last year’s NBA Finals. Finney-Smith is the perfect player to have in a series against the Celtics, as he can effectively guard any of their most dangerous weapons at the guard and wing positions.
You have to give away value to receive value in any NBA trade, that’s for sure. Nonetheless, Luka and the Mavs are still missing Finney-Smith’s presence, and that won’t change anytime soon.
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