Lakers Swoop in to Outbid Another NBA Team in Dorian Finney-Smith Trade

The Lakers beat out the Memphis Grizzlies with their trade offer for Dorian Finney-Smith.

Finney-Smith is shooting a career-high 43.5% from three-point range during the 2024-25 season. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers landed Dorian Finney-Smith in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, but they had to sneak around another Western Conference team to get the deal done.

The Lakers sent D'Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis, and three second-round picks (2027, '30, '31) in exchange for Finney-Smith and Shake Milton. They were not the only party interested in Finney-Smith.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Lakers swooped in to beat the Memphis Grizzlies' offer for the veteran forward. Stein claims Memphis' offer centered around John Konchard and Luke Kennard plus a heavily-protected first-round pick. The Nets preferred LA's offer of three second-rounders.

The Lakers have swooped in to top Memphis’ trade offer for Dorian Finney-Smith … with the Nets choosing three second-round picks from L.A. as the prime return for Finney-Smith rather than a heavily protected first-round pick from Memphis. https://t.co/zVkOW21DYO

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) December 29, 2024

This marks the second time the Lakers have traded Russell to the Nets. Back in June of 2017, Russell and Timofey Mozgov were shipped to Brooklyn in exchange for Brook Lopez and the draft rights to Kyle Kuzma.

Russell is averaging 12.4 points, 2.8 rebound sand 4.7 assists in 26.3 minutes per game and is making $18.7 million in the final year of his contract. Lewis is a former second-round pick who is a ball of potential but has yet to get significant playing time in the NBA. The 22-year-old has only seen action in 41 games over his two-year career and has averaged 3.2 minutes in those contests.

The Lakers have long pursued Finney-Smith and finally got their man on Sunday. The 31-year-old forward is averaging 10.4 points and 4.6 rebounds in 29.0 minutes per game this season while shooting a career-high 43.5% from three-point range. He's making $14.9 million this season and holds a $15.4 million player option for the 2025-26 campaign.

Meanwhile, Milton is an instant-offense-type shooting guard who is hitting 38.9% from three-point range this season. He's in the first season of a three-year, $9.2 million deal that makes him an incredibly cheap rotation piece for Los Angeles.

The Lakers snagged the guy they wanted, got better and were able to edge out a Western Conference foe in the process.

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