Dorian Finney-Smith did not follow in LeBron James' footsteps. LeBron opted into his $52.6 million player option with the Los Angeles Lakers while Finney-Smith opted out. The valuable Lakers' three-and-D wing now enters free agency with a real chance of leaving Los Angeles.
It's a rather mundane free agency class so there will certainly be interest in Finney-Smith's services. This is bad news for the Lakers, who are hard-capped at the second apron and don't have ample cap space to bring him back.
Unfortunately, the last team the Lakers likely wanted to emerge has officially entered the Finney-Smith sweepstakes. According to NBA insiders Jake Fischer and Marc Stein, the Houston Rockets are a viable free-agent landing spot for the veteran wing.
Rockets are a nightmarish threat to steal Dorian Finney-Smith from Lakers
There are multiple factors that make this a nightmare scenario for the Lakers.
First is the obvious: the Rockets are a Western Conference contender who the Lakers may see in the NBA Playoffs. The No. 2 seed in the West last season added Kevin Durant in a trade without giving up much. If the Lakers are going to make a run at the title, chances are they will have to go through Houston at some point.
The other factor pertains to the financial side of things. The Rockets are one of few teams in the NBA that have a full non-taxpayer's MLE to give out. Houston can use the nontaxpayer MLE to give Finney-Smith a fourth-year contract with a starting salary of $14.1 million.
This is less than the $15.4 million Finney-Smith was set to make with the Lakers next season. However, it would come with three more years of security, whereas his player option only granted him one year of security.
This is big for a player in his 30s. It's much more valuable to lock up four years of a guaranteed salary even if that means a slight pay decrease in year one. Plus, if Finney-Smith were to sign with Houston, he would be leaving California's state income tax in favor of a state with no income tax.
This isn't just a case of the Rockets making sense for Finney-Smith on paper. They are a legitimate threat to steal Finney-Smith away as they simply have far more resources than the Lakers.
The Lakers are just $11.6 million under the first tax apron after LeBron opted into his player option. Even if the Lakers can get their tax bill down to give Finney-Smith the full MLE, the team has to compete with the financial advantage the Rockets have simply because of where they are located.
If Finney-Smith is chasing the biggest pay day this offseason, then it might be time for Lakers fans to say goodbye. Unfortunately, that may result in him joining a Western Conference foe.