The Los Angeles Lakers were 100 percent right in letting Dorian Finney-Smith walk in free agency after the Houston Rockets had to trade three second-round draft picks to dump his contract. DFS signed a four-year deal worth $52.7 million, but he lasted just one season in Houston. He missed significant time recovering from offseason ankle surgery and had a negative value over replacement player (VORP) after returning. His disastrous season led to a difficult trade and completely vindicated the Lakers for watching him walk away.
Los Angeles traded three second-round picks to acquire Finney-Smith in December 2024. He played just 43 regular season games and five playoff contests with the Lakers. The 6’7 forward was a key 3-and-D forward, but the front office wanted to prioritize cap flexibility for the 2026 offseason. LA wanted a short-term contract, so Finney-Smith moved on. The Rockets gave him four years and significantly more money.
Rob Pelinka and the Lakers took plenty of heat for their poor asset management, but the franchise was right. They bet against a 33-year-old coming off a significant ankle surgery. Finney-Smith looked slow, couldn’t find his jumper, and was a problem for a contending roster on both ends of the floor. Pelinka was proven right and deserves credit for avoiding a disaster.
Latest Dorian Finney-Smith trade proves Lakers were genius
DFS was bad. He averaged just 3.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assist in 16.8 minutes per game in his lone season with the Rockets. Doe-Doe shot 33.3 percent from the field and made 27 of his 100 3-point attempts.
He wasn’t in Houston’s playoff rotation until Kevin Durant went down. The Rockets were outscored by 26 points in his 49 minutes against the Lakers in the postseason. It was a disaster as Finney-Smith was virtually unplayable, but Houston had nowhere else to turn.
Los Angeles was already proven right, but it went to another level with this trade. The Lakers didn’t have three second-round picks until they just traded Deandre Ayton for two. They may not have even been able to sign Ayton or move on from Finney-Smith if the purple and gold won the free agent bidding war last summer. If Doe-Doe played as badly in LA as he did in Houston, it would have cost the Lakers six second-round picks for 80 games of production.
The Lakers wouldn’t have been able to remake the squad around Luka if they signed Finney-Smith. Doncic is excited about the current roster. He has a great relationship with Doe-Doe, but LA is trying to get younger and more athletic. They didn’t want to bet a multi-year contract on a player who will be 35 when the deal ends. Finney-Smith has already taken a step back, and the purple and gold didn’t want to be caught holding the bag.
No matter what fans say, Rob Pelinka was spot on for letting Dorian Finney-Smith walk in free agency. The Los Angeles Lakers shouldn’t have traded three second-round picks to acquire him, but nobody could have known Luka Doncic would fall into their laps.
The trade for number 77 changed everything, and it made it easy to move on from DFS last summer. The decision keeps paying dividends, and Pelinka nailed it. Finney-Smith is now on the Hornets after being dumped by the Rockets. Lakers fans should apologize to the front office. This was the right move, and there is no changing that.
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