Dallas Basketball

WATCH: Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie Receive Dallas Mavs Tributes

The two former Mavericks were honored on Friday night in their first game back in Dallas following the Kyrie Irving trade last season.

Michael Mulford

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On Friday night, the Dallas Mavericks played tribute videos for both former Mavs players Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie with the Brooklyn Nets in town.

As part of the Kyrie Irving trade from February, the Mavs sent Finney-Smith, Dinwiddie and three future draft picks to Brooklyn in exchange for the eight-time All-Star and veteran Markieff Morris.

For Dinwiddie, he landed in Dallas as a part of the Kristaps Porzingis trade in 2022 from the Washington Wizards and was subject to several big moments and game-winning shots in his time as a Maverick. In 76 games in Dallas over two seasons, Dinwiddie averaged 17.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game while shooting 40 percent from 3-point range.

When it comes to Finney-Smith, the loss of him in the trade for Irving was the hardest to make up for, as he had become a favorite among the organization, fans and media while becoming a really good basketball player alongside Luka Doncic. 'Doe-Doe' evolved into a very good on-ball defender, capable of switching onto several positions. He also improved his 3-point shooting just about every season.

In 434 games over seven seasons in Dallas, Finney-Smith averaged 8.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 36 percent from 3-point range.

Finney-Smith made Dallas his home, where he started a family, along with truly forming a real connection with the city and the organization, as Mavs owner Mark Cuban and company going as far as helping Finney-Smith's father secure parole after serving almost three decades in prison.

While losing the likes of Finney-Smith and Dinwiddie was tough for Dallas' rotation last season, you can't fault the front office for making a homerun type of move to land a star-caliber player like Irving to team up with Doncic. But, if the opportunity ever presents itself, you can bet the house that Dallas would welcome Finney-Smith back in an instant -- and he might just feel the same way.

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Michael Mulford
MICHAEL MULFORD

Michael Mulford is a writer/editor for Dallas Basketball, where he extensively covers the Dallas Mavericks. He also covers the Chicago Bulls as the Managing Editor for Bulls Wire of USA Today Sports Media Group. Mulford grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and graduated from the University of North Texas in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in Recreation, Event, and Sports Management. He began his pursuit of sports writing in 2017 with Dallas Sports Fanatic, where he covered the Mavericks’ G League affiliate, Texas Legends. He then became the Managing Editor of Dallas Sports Fanatic just one year later and has covered the Mavericks as a credentialed media member since 2018, including covering numerous playoff games between 2021-22 and covering the team at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in 2019. In his time covering the Mavericks, Mulford has conducted numerous interviews for exclusive stories including with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki, former Maverick and current VP of Basketball Ops Michael Finley, former Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson, and more. You can follow and interact with Mulford on Twitter at @TheMulf.

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