{"id":114879,"date":"2024-12-30T00:24:32","date_gmt":"2024-12-30T05:24:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=114879"},"modified":"2024-12-30T00:24:32","modified_gmt":"2024-12-30T05:24:32","slug":"grade-the-trade-lakers-acquire-finney-smith-updated-cap-picks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/30\/grade-the-trade-lakers-acquire-finney-smith-updated-cap-picks\/","title":{"rendered":"Grade The Trade: Lakers Acquire Finney-Smith; Updated Cap, Picks"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> and Brooklyn Nets<\/a> have completed a notable trade. The Lakers moved on from D\u2019Angelo Russell<\/a> in exchange for defensive specialist Dorian Finney-Smith<\/a> and ball-handler Shake Milton.<\/a><\/p>\n

Grade The Trade: Lakers Acquire Finney-Smith For DLO; Updated Cap, Draft Picks<\/h2>\n

Trade Details<\/h3>\n

Lakers receive<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Dorian Finney-Smith<\/p>\n

Shake Milton<\/p>\n

Nets receive:<\/p>\n

D\u2019Angelo Russell<\/p>\n

Maxwell Lewis<\/a><\/p>\n

2027 2nd-round pick<\/p>\n

2030 2nd-round pick<\/p>\n

2031 2nd-round pick<\/p>\n

Lakers\u2019 Perspective: An All-In Move for Defense and Depth<\/h3>\n

The Lakers needed to move Russell. His expiring contract ($18.6m<\/a> cap hit for 2024-25) provided a perfect trade chip. Moreover, he\u2019s having one of the worst seasons of his career. His inconsistent play and poor defense made him a liability on a team with championship aspirations.<\/p>\n

Acquiring Finney-Smith addresses<\/a> one of the Lakers’ biggest weaknesses: wing defense. Finney-Smith is an elite three-and-D player. He improves the Lakers’ 21st-ranked<\/a> defense significantly and can also contribute offensively. His $14.9 million<\/a> cap hit is manageable, and his 2025-26 player option offers flexibility.<\/p>\n

Adding Milton gives the Lakers another capable ball-handler. Milton\u2019s contract is minimal, with two non-guaranteed years, making him a low-risk addition.<\/p>\n

The Lakers<\/a> also avoided giving up first-round picks. Instead, they parted with three second-rounders. For a team in win-now mode, second-round picks hold little value. The Lakers have a track record of finding talent in the undrafted market, making second-round picks even less valuable to them.<\/p>\n

Grade: A<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nets\u2019 Perspective: Stockpiling Picks for the Future<\/h3>\n

This trade underscores the Nets’ rebuilding focus. Reacquiring Russell<\/a> isn\u2019t about his play; it\u2019s about his expiring contract. The Nets gain three second-round picks while swapping Finney-Smith for Russell.<\/p>\n

The trade also gives Brooklyn flexibility to flip Russell for more assets before the February deadline. This strategy aligns with their recent move to trade Dennis Schroder<\/a> for picks.<\/p>\n

Finney-Smith’s trade value was high. He\u2019s shooting a career-best 43% from three while averaging 10.4 points per game. Some might question whether the Nets could have held onto him longer to secure a better return. However, adding picks and maintaining flexibility remains a win.<\/p>\n

Grade: B<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lakers\u2019 Updated Cap and Draft Pick Situation<\/h3>\n

The Lakers have bolstered their roster while creating breathing room under the second apron. They now sit $3.5 million<\/a> below the second apron, compared to just $30,000 before the trade.<\/p>\n

Finney-Smith\u2019s Contract: $14.9 million this season, $15.4 million player option for 2025-26.<\/p>\n

Milton\u2019s Contract: $2.9 million<\/a> this season, non-guaranteed $3.0 million (2025) and $3.3 million (2026).<\/p>\n

The Lakers retain<\/a> four tradeable draft picks, including three first-rounders in 2027 (if 1-4 because its top-4 protected), 2029, and 2030. These assets position them well for future moves. The Lakers are hardcapped at the second apron for this season.<\/p>\n

Nets\u2019 Updated Cap and Draft Pick Situation<\/h3>\n

Brooklyn now holds<\/a> 31 draft picks over the next seven years. This includes 15 first-rounders and 16 second-rounders. The team also has $59 million<\/a> in salaries entering the 2025 offseason, giving them nearly $100 million in cap space.<\/p>\n

The Nets are $1.9 million below the first apron, where they are hardcapped. They also hold a variety of trade exceptions ranging from $2.6 million to $23 million.<\/p>\n

Lakers Adding Finney-Smith Is a Great Move<\/h3>\n

The Lakers addressed their defensive shortcomings and added depth without surrendering first-round picks. Finney-Smith\u2019s addition improves their title chances, while Milton provides low-risk support.<\/p>\n

The Nets, meanwhile, continued their long-term strategy of amassing picks and cap space. While losing Finney-Smith hurts, the return aligns with their rebuilding goals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets have completed a notable trade. The Lakers moved on from D\u2019Angelo Russell in exchange for defensive specialist Dorian Finney-Smith and ball-handler Shake Milton. Grade The Trade: Lakers Acquire Finney-Smith For DLO; Updated Cap, Draft Picks Trade Details Lakers receive: Dorian Finney-Smith Shake Milton Nets receive: D\u2019Angelo Russell Maxwell […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":114893,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,6,26],"tags":[49979,1466,307,252,2272,4829,4975,98,1382,662,49628,3811],"class_list":["post-114879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-nets","category-lakers","tag-2024-25-nba-season","tag-cap-space","tag-dangelo-russell","tag-dennis-schroder","tag-dorian-finney-smith","tag-maxwell-lewis","tag-nba-contracts","tag-nba-draft","tag-nba-trade","tag-nba-trade-deadline","tag-second-apron","tag-shake-milton"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114879"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114881,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114879\/revisions\/114881"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}