Dorrian-Finney Smith is on his way to Los Angeles.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been looking for additional help on the wing for several seasons. Dorian Finney-Smith has long been a rumored target for Cleveland. That option is off the table as he’s reportedly being sent to the Los Angeles Lakers along with Shake Milton in exchange for D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis, and three second-round picks. ESPN’s Shams Charania was the first to report the transaction.
Finney-Smith would’ve been a logical fit for Cleveland. He’s someone who can play both small and power forward while being able to stretch the floor. In 20 games this season with the Brooklyn Nets, he’s shot 43.5% from distance on 5.4 attempts per game. It’s not difficult to see how that would fit into Kenny Atkinson’s offense.
At the same time, the Cavs have a really good thing going. They’re first in the league in point differential and offensive rating while winning at a 71-win pace over a third of the way through the season. Each player is part of what has made this team so dominant. Even though there’s rumblings about a consolidation trade, that may be difficult to pull off considering the Cavs cap situation and lack of moveable draft picks.
The Nets still have wings that the Cavs could be interested in. There have been rumors linking Cam Johnson to Cleveland for quite some time. He would be an even better fit than Finney-Smith into Cleveland’s offense and defense, but Johnson will likely command too high of a price tag for the Cavs to match.
We’ll see how Koby Altman and company manage the deadline. I think a trade makes more sense in theory than reality, but this front office may see things differently. They’ve shown to be aggressive and often make their moves without much chatter leading up to them. The trade deadline this season is Feb. 6 at 3 PM.