The Los Angeles Lakers will enter free agency with a few areas to address, mainly with their frontcourt. However, another issue appears on the horizon: potentially losing Dorian Finney-Smith to one of their biggest competitors in the Western Conference.
The Athletic's Dan Woike reported that the Lakers are preparing to lose Finney-Smith to the Rockets this offseason. The Lakers' wing was acquired mid-season for D'Angelo Russell, and in the 43 regular season games he played for the Lakers, he averaged 8.7 points while shooting 44.2% from the field and 41.1% from three.
In the postseason, his stats slightly declined, but his playing time went up, as he went from averaging 28.8 minutes a game to 34. He averaged 6.2 points while shooting 41.4% from the field and 36.8% from three. Even though his numbers dwindled, he still opted out of his contract, and it appears he'll join the Rockets next season.
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) and Los Angeles Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith (17)
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) and Los Angeles Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith (17)
Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
But how did this happen? Before the Lakers acquired him, Finney-Smith had a strong rapport with Luka Doncic from their days with the Dallas Mavericks. ClutchPoints' Anthony Irwin revealed how the Lakers fumbled the situation with the wing.
"They aren't letting (Finney-Smith) walk in order to have the room to sign anyone (Lopez or Ayton, in this case). They simply screwed up the (Finney-Smith) situation," Irwin posted on X. "They lowballed him, tried to sandbag him, and now he's walking."
Irwin expanded on this, claiming Los Angeles actually attempted to leak negative health information regarding the veteran wing, in hopes of reducing his open-market value.
Needless to say, Lakers fans are upset over this report.
"I hope Luka leave us high and dry!" said one. "Rob shoulda been gone years ago!!!"
"When is Pelinka getting fired," one asked.
"Rob is pathetic man," added one.
"Just another example of how bad the Lakers front office is," said another.
It's worth noting there is also a lot of speculation about the validity of this report, with many fans also pointing that out.
"I don’t believe this at all," said one.
"Not sure that I'm buying that," one added