Dorian Finney-Smith Opts Out, per Shams

[magee]

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/281072/Dorian-Finney-Smith-Declines-$154M-Player-Option-With-Lakers

Love it. Curious to see who comes after him in a couple days.

[ThatBoyNick]

Rockets will have interest but likely won’t be operating with a full MLE to offer (closer to 10 mill).

He had such a great year for the Lakers I imagine they bring him back around full MLE on a 2 or 3 year

[bdp31770]

Isn't he exactly the kind of player the Lakers need to keep, a 3 and D guy?

[Slimjimzv]

Isn't he exactly the kind of player the Lakers need to keep, a 3 and D guy?

They need a rim-running center who can defend. Once they get that piece (and I'm certain they will), they'll be a tough team to deal with.

[magee]

Isn't he exactly the kind of player the Lakers need to keep, a 3 and D guy?

They need him and a Center or two. My guess is they will try to kick the tires on Portland's TIMELORD, as much as everyone will try to rumor the **** out of Ayton getting dealt there.

[FrobeBryant]

Isn't he exactly the kind of player the Lakers need to keep, a 3 and D guy?

They do, but he’s also 32 and is probably wanting multiple years as his last major contract. Pelinka has a track record of letting assets walk away for nothing so I won’t be surprised if it’s the same with DFS.

[EmpireFalls]

Lakers are cooked. They may not even be a play-in team

[mg]

He would've been a better fit a few years ago but clearly not the same player at age 32. Lakers need a younger infusion of guys. NAW, Kessler types would fit their Luka timeline.

I get the impression they are no longer on the Lebron timeline.

[Tor_Raps]

I'm surprised... I don't expect he'll get that AAV anywhere on this market.

[bkkrh]

Apparently he didn't get the memo that the league is rigged in favor of the Lakers.

[cupcakesnake]

Isn't he exactly the kind of player the Lakers need to keep, a 3 and D guy?

They need a rim-running center who can defend. Once they get that piece (and I'm certain they will), they'll be a tough team to deal with.

I think what we learned from this season/these playoffs is that you need to be DEEP. Phoenix missed the playoffs. The Lakers got smoked. Every team that made some noise had 8+ playoff rotation level players.

So my bigger concern with he Lakers potentially losing DFS is that they've got a long road to go trying to put a team around Luka. They currently have 4 guys they like (Luka, Lebron, Rui, Reaves). They don't need just one thing. They need like 4 or 5 more things! They've already decided one of those things is Bronny.

[JRoy]

Love it. Great choice.

[Slimjimzv]

Isn't he exactly the kind of player the Lakers need to keep, a 3 and D guy?

They need a rim-running center who can defend. Once they get that piece (and I'm certain they will), they'll be a tough team to deal with.

I think what we learned from this season/these playoffs is that you need to be DEEP. Phoenix missed the playoffs. The Lakers got smoked. Every team that made some noise had 8+ playoff rotation level players.

So my bigger concern with he Lakers potentially losing DFS is that they've got a long road to go trying to put a team around Luka. They currently have 4 guys they like (Luka, Lebron, Rui, Reaves). They don't need just one thing. They need like 4 or 5 more things! They've already decided one of those things is Bronny.

I agree. I attribute their lack of depth to them constantly trading away their picks for 'win now' players. That being said, I think it's going to be tough for them to pivot anytime soon. I suspect they're stuck with extreme talent at the top, and below league average through the rest of their roster. LeBron and Luka may just be enough to overcome, though. As a Thunder fan, they've both burned me too severely for me to be comfortable counting them out.

[The Golden Fang]

This was going to happen. Nobody should be surprised by this. At his age he's looking for a longer term deal to play out the rest of his prime.

[zimpy27]

If he goes then Lakers open up the full $14m MLE and $5m BAE.

[Vae Victus]

Lakers cap situation is not ideal.

Luka isnt extended yet and can walk. Lebron has opted into his 53mil player option. Vando has a long term bad deal costing 10-11mil per year. Everyone else of note is on an expiring deal (Rui, Reaves has player option, Vincent, Kleber). DFS opted out.

The Laker situation isnt ideal mostly due to Luka not extending yet. If he's extended then they can take their time building around him and not be under the gun of total franchise annihilation of him leaving with no compensation coming back.

At this point, there's no other choice but to extend DFS on a reasonable deal (like 3 years 42mil, more than he'd normally get unless someone gross overpays), then trade or sign for the best fitting C they can scrounge up. Dangel a package of expirings + Knect + other picks and see where that goes. Otherwise the plan needs to be able to sign a max FA in next season once Lebron's and other expirings are off the books.

[John Murdoch]

Bad asset management if he walks but also frees up space to maybe grab both Capela and Brook ..and jus hope Vando isnt a net negative which he was in almost every Luka lineup

[Karmaloop]

A LOT of doom and gloom in this thread. He'll re-sign on a modest 3 year deal.

[tamaraw08]

Isn't he exactly the kind of player the Lakers need to keep, a 3 and D guy?

OMG yes, they actually need him plus 1-2 more guys who can defend and hit 3’s.
Vando and Goodwin are huge offensive liabilities and JJ also refused to play Knecht because he can’t defend.

[Dacost]

They give up 3 second round picks for him usually this doesn't really matters but the Lakers are so slow picks that it actually hurts a bit.