When the Los Angeles Lakers weigh their options in free agency, one fact will hang over their heads: Dorian Finney-Smith controls a large part of their destiny. Finney-Smith was a transformative acquisition in 2024-25, but his time with the franchise could end as soon as it began.
Finney-Smith has a player option for the 2025-26 season, and the decision he makes on that front could go a long way toward deciding the Lakers' future and flexibility.
Finney-Smith has a player option worth $15,378,480 for the 2025-26 season. That would pay him just over $1 million more than the projected mid-level exception, which gives some level of reason to believe that he could opt in.
Finney-Smith is 32 years of age, however, and could thus view the 2025 period of free agency as his last opportunity to sign a long-term deal.
Players are extending their primes in ways that modern medicine, as well as travel, fitness, and apparel advancements, have undoubtedly inspired. The sample size of data supporting role players thriving in their mid-30s, however, is admittedly scarce.
As such, the Lakers must prepare for the possibility that bringing Finney-Smith back on a multi-year deal will be the only way to keep one of their most important players in Los Angeles.
Dorian Finney-Smith's player option will decide Lakers' future
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If Finney-Smith opts in and returns for the 2025-26 season at roughly $15.4 million, the Lakers will preserve their long-term flexibility. They'll also have a surefire fit at forward, which could prove significant if Rob Pelinka is active on the trade market.
A case can be made that the Lakers' most attractive trade assets include Rui Hachimura, Dalton Knecht, and Jarred Vanderbilt, all of whom contribute to the team's significant depth at forward.
With Finney-Smith locked in for another season, Pelinka could operate with significantly more confidence on the trade market. Moving one or even two of those players would be difficult to stomach, but Finney-Smith would ensure that Los Angeles can move forward with a starting-caliber option.
If Finney-Smith declines his player option, however, the Lakers will enter what projects to be a competitive market for a high-level 3-and-D forward.
Cap space is limited around the NBA, but front offices get creative when they want to sign players. It transpires every summer and is the great combatant of any points to the contrary. Furthermore, the 2025 NBA Playoffs have epitomized the need for depth along the wings in the modern NBA.
All of the current Conference Finalists thrive on strength in numbers from the 2 to the 4, and Finney-Smith is a proven commodity who should have a respectable market based on that reality.
If that competitive scenario plays out, the Lakers would need to balance their efforts to [trade for a center](https://lakeshowlife.com/lakers-rumored-onyeka-okongwu-interest-reveals-rob-pelinka-grand-vision) with the need to re-sign or replace Finney-Smith. That would certainly complicate matters, and could potentially delay Los Angeles' [crucial pursuit of an upgrade](https://lakeshowlife.com/lakers-can-scratch-another-free-agent-center-off-their-list-after-latest-report) at the 5-spot if they're uncertain of how their depth chart will otherwise take shape.
It's an uncomfortable position for the Lakers to find themselves in, but the harsh reality is that Finney-Smith's personal choice of how to proceed in his career will decide Los Angeles' future.