Lakers Trade For Dorian Finney-Smith Reportedly Created Drama Between Nets and West Rival

The Lakers apparently caused some hard feelings to form between the Nets and another team in the Western Conference.

Jan 3, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith (17) moves the ball against Atlanta Hawks forward De'Andre Hunter (12) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers made a trade to get better defensively off the bench. They shipped out D'Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis, and three second-round picks in order to get Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton in return. It was a move made with the bench in mind.

Los Angeles has won seven of their last nine games. While Finney-smith and Milton have not been with the team throughout that entire stretch, their performances have certainly helped the Lakers. Defensively, the team is much more stout with their bench unit.

The Lakers weren't the only team that was interested in Finney-Smith. There are a few other teams that were sniffing around a possible deal with the Nets to bring him in. In fact, it seems like Brooklyn's decision to send Finney-Smith to LA has ruffled the feathers of another team in the West.

According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, the Grizzlies were close to having a deal with the Nets to bring Finney-Smith to Memphis and they were angry that he ended up getting sent to LA instead. They thought that their deal for him was better than what the Lakers sent out.

The deal would have seen the Grizzlies send Luke Kennard, John Konchar, and a top-17 protected 2025 first-round pick to the Nets. Brooklyn would also have sent back a second-round pick. Apparently, the Nets liked what the Lakers were offering more.

Brooklyn got three draft picks back and an All-Star player in Russell. It doesn't make sense that Memphis is angry that their version of the deal didn't get done. It's not like either of the players they were sending as part of the package is nearly as good as Russell is.

The Lakers will likely make at least one more move before the trade deadline next month. They are still looking for ways to improve their roster into a title-contending roster before the playoffs start. Right now, they aren't guaranteed to be one of the top-six seeds, which would keep them out of the play-in game.

The Nets are looking to be a team that rebuilds around the draft capital that they have in the next few seasons. While they still have a shot to make the play-in, they will likely explore trading Cameron Johnson before the deadline, which would end any shot of making the playoffs.

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