The Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets have reportedly agreed to a trade that centers around former Los Angeles Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith. Finney-Smith will be joining the Hawks, while Buddy Hield and Ryan Nembhard will be heading to the Hornets.
Though the Lakers were never formally in on the Finney-Smith sweepstakes, a reunion could've provided them with a starting forward and a way out of Jarred Vanderbilt's contract.
At his best, Finney-Smith is simply a more ideal fit with the Lakers than Vanderbilt. Both are on-ball defensive specialists who excel in that capacity, but the difference between them is simple: Finney-Smith is a respectable three-point shooter and Vanderbilt is a non-shooter.
As such, there's reason to believe that the Lakers should've jumped at the opportunity to swap Vanderbilt for Finney-Smith and the non-guaranteed salary he has for the 2027-28 season.
Finney-Smith is owed $40,005,000 over the next three seasons, while Vanderbilt will make $25,714,285 over the next two. The key difference is a matter of guaranteed money. While Vanderbilt has a player option for the 2027-28 season, Finney-Smith has a non-guaranteed salary that the Lakers could've simply shed from their books.
Compounded by the fact that the Lakers still need a starting forward who can defend multiple positions and space the floor, this is a missed opportunity.
Lakers should've tried to trade Jarred Vanderbilt for Dorian Finney-Smith
Finney-Smith is 33 and played just 37 games in 2025-26. In saying that, Los Angeles has reason to overlook the concerns. For instance, Finney-Smith helped the Lakers win 50 games in 2024-25 as a transformative figure who played a direct role in the team's in-season turnaround on the defensive end of the floor.
Furthermore, Finney-Smith is close friends and former teammates with Lakers franchise player Luka Doncic. The two played five-and-a-half seasons together on the Dallas Mavericks and displayed chemistry on both ends of the floor.
Finney-Smith shot 39.4 percent from beyond the arc during his final two seasons with Doncic, all the while earning a reputation as one of the better defenders in the NBA. That carried into 2025-26, when he ranked in the 77th percentile in perimeter isolation defense, per Basketball Index.
Though he shot just 27.0 percent from beyond the arc in 37 appearances in 2025-26, Finney-Smith buried 41.1 percent of his threes with the Lakers and Brooklyn Nets in 2024-25.
As a high-level on-ball defender at 6'7" and 220 pounds with a near 7'0" wingspan, Finney-Smith could've rounded the Lakers' defense out. As a proven catch-and-shoot option who knows how to complement Doncic, he could've even auditioned for a longer tenure in Los Angeles.
Most importantly: Even if he struggled, the Lakers could've walked away in 2027. Instead, Vanderbilt and his player option are still on the books, and the starting still needs a final player.
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