The Los Angeles Lakers made a strong move on the margins early in trade season when they sent D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton. Finney-Smith was the headliner of the deal, bringing the Lakers their first true 3-and-D wing, an area they’ve been sorely lacking in since gutting the roster in the summer of 2021.
One of the risks in landing Finney-Smith, though, was the fact that he could potentially become a free agent this offseason. The 31-year-old forward has a player option worth just under $15.4 million this summer, but could have more value than that given how 3-and-D wings are compensated in today’s NBA.
But on Wednesday, Feb. 12, Finney-Smith became extension-eligible with the Lakers. L.A. now has the chance to negotiate exclusively with their forward and strike up a deal that keeps him from hitting the free agent market at all.
However, whether or not Finney-Smith wants to discuss that all comes down to what type of deal he and his agent feel he is capable of getting this offseason. The Lakers are limited in what they can offer him as of Wednesday and he holds some leverage given that the Lakers gave up a majority of their second-round draft capital to acquire him.
Dorian Finney-Smith extension explained
Due to a trade restriction in Finney-Smith’s original four-year, $55.6 million deal signed with the Dallas Mavericks back in the summer of 2022, the Lakers can offer him a maximum of three years, $56.4 million right now. He would have a first-year salary of $17.9 million, replacing the $15.4 million player option for next season.
This deal would pay Finney-Smith $17.9 million in his age-32 season (2025-26), $19.0 million the following season and $19.7 million in 2027-28, Finney-Smith’s age-34 season. He cannot receive a full four-year deal from the Lakers until the league year flips on June 30, but L.A. does have his bird rights and could offer him however much they wanted at that time.
The Lakers would be wise to offer Finney-Smith this full extension right away, as those are very team-friendly figures for a player with his skillset. But if they choose to wait it out until the summer, they’ll have the ability to offer the same contract and more at that point.
How Finney-Smith evaluates the free agent market will also be important, as there aren’t many teams with cap space this summer, and signing the deal now may be wise for him as well. There’s no denying that playing in L.A. for the Lakers is a great situation for Finney-Smith in the back half of his career, especially after they acquired his good friend Luka Doncic. But it will be up to him and his agent if they want to lock down a deal now or wait for the summer.
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