Lakers acquire Dorian Finney-Smith, trade D’Angelo Russell to the Nets
LOS ANGELES — He’s not a big name, but it’s a big trade.
The Lakers have acquired Dorian Finney-Smith, a multiple-positional defender shooting 43.5% from three-point range this season, in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets without surrendering any of L.A.’s future first-round draft picks — a deal that improves two big areas of need while keeping the door open for future moves.
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The team, according to someone with knowledge of the deal not authorized to speak publicly, has sent D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and second-round picks in 2029, 2030 and 2031 to the Nets for Finney-Smith and reserve guard Shake Milton. The move, the Lakers hope, bolsters their improving defense while giving their offense one of the most efficient catch-and-shoot players in the league this season.
Finney-Smith, 31, is averaging 10.4 points and 4.6 rebounds while attempting 5.4 threes in 20 games. He’s capable of defending guards, forwards and centers, making him one of the league’s most versatile players on that end of the court and a prototypical piece for the style of play coach JJ Redick is trying to instill with the Lakers.
Redick and Finney-Smith were briefly teammates in 2021 when Redick finished his career with the Dallas Mavericks.
The Lakers will need to decide how he slots into their rotation and whether he replaces either Rui Hachimura or Max Christie in the starting lineup. Finney-Smith essentially has been a full-time starter since the 2019-20 season, when he established himself as a reliable three-point shooter playing for Dallas.
The trade cements Austin Reaves’ role as the Lakers’ primary on-ball guard. He had a career-high 16 assists Saturday in a win against Sacramento, pushing the Lakers’ record to 14-3 this season when Reaves has five or more assists. Gabe Vincent will also handle point-guard duties in addition to LeBron James. Vincent, who suffered an oblique injury Saturday, is hoping to return for the Lakers on Tuesday against Cleveland.
The Lakers will have to decide whether to bring Finney-Smith or Hachimura off the bench, assuming they continue to start Christie in the backcourt with Reaves.
Hachimura and Finney-Smith are two of the nine players 6-foot-7 or taller shooting at least 43% on threes this season. While Hachimura has shown improvements on the defensive end, Finney-Smith is regarded as being much stronger on that end of the court.
The Lakers managed to make the deal to the surprise of multiple rival NBA executives without including a first-round pick. Memphis, according to people with knowledge of the talks, was discussing a deal that included a protected first-round pick that would’ve landed them Finney-Smith before the Lakers swooped in to close the deal.
The trade ends a long stretch of uncertainty for Russell, with the former No. 2 overall pick seemingly on the trade block since the Lakers re-acquired him in the trade that sent out Russell Westbrook in 2023.
Russell helped the Lakers reach the Western Conference finals that season, and his play in the second half of last season helped push the Lakers to 47 wins. Russell set the Lakers’ record for most made threes in a season with 226.
But concerns about his defense and playoff performances along with the emergence of Reaves helped push Russell to the bench this season, and with the Lakers improving on defense, the point guard saw his minutes and offensive opportunities cut.
This season, Russell has averaged 12.4 points and 26.3 minutes a game, while seeing his three-point shooting drop from 41.5% last season to 33.3% this season. In the final year of his contract, Russell returns to the Nets, where he made his lone All-Star appearance in 2019.
A person close to Russell told The Times on condition of anonymity that he’s excited about the return to Brooklyn and the chance to establish his value heading into free agency next offseason. People inside the Lakers’ front office and locker room also praised Russell for accepting a lesser role with the team this season without becoming a distraction, showing a true team-first commitment.
