{"id":147745,"date":"2025-06-29T14:14:27","date_gmt":"2025-06-29T18:14:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=147745"},"modified":"2025-06-29T15:12:32","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T19:12:32","slug":"dorian-finney-smith-makes-contract-decision-set-to-leave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/06\/29\/dorian-finney-smith-makes-contract-decision-set-to-leave\/","title":{"rendered":"41.1% 3PT Laker Wing Makes Contract Decision, Set To Leave"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES<\/strong> \u2013 Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> forward Dorian Finney-Smith<\/a> has declined<\/a> his $15.4 million player option for next season. This decision makes him an unrestricted free agent starting July 1. Dorian Finney-Smith declining his player option choice puts the Lakers in an interesting spot. Finney-Smith could still return to L.A., but rival contenders want the veteran too. So essentially, he could leave the Lakers for absolutely nothing in free agency.<\/p>\n

41.1% 3PT Laker Wing, Dorian Finney-Smith Makes Contract Decision, Set To Leave<\/h2>\n

LeBron James Stays, but Questions Linger<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Dorian
Apr 30, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith (17) reacts after being called for a foul during the second half in game five of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LeBron James<\/a> had opted into his $52.6 million contract for 2025\u201326 just hours ago. Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul told ESPN that James will \u201cclosely monitor\u201d the Lakers\u2019 next moves. He wants to \u201ccompete for a championship,\u201d Paul said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Yet, this doesn\u2019t guarantee James stays long-term. The Lakers now juggle the fallout of Finney-Smith declining his player option, LeBron\u2019s looming future, finding a starting center, and extension talks with Luka Don\u010di\u0107<\/a> and Rui Hachimura.<\/a><\/p>\n

DFS Boosted the Lakers<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Finney-Smith, 32, landed in Los Angeles through a trade with the Brooklyn Nets<\/a> last December. He instantly impacted the Lakers\u2019 rotation.<\/p>\n

He averaged 28.8 minutes and shot 39.8% from three. Dorian shot 41.1% from behind-the-arc for the whole season. His defense and versatility made the small-ball lineups with Luka work. Finney-Smith and Don\u010di\u0107 have chemistry from five seasons together in Dallas.<\/p>\n

Coach JJ Redick relied on Finney-Smith heavily in the playoffs. He logged 34 minutes a night, proving his value when it mattered.<\/p>\n

Why the Player Option Decision Matters<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Dorian Finney-Smith declining his player option could shape L.A.\u2019s offseason moves. If Finney-Smith had opted in, he\u2019d be extension-eligible for up to four years, $96.5 million. But without a guaranteed extension, there was little incentive for him to lock in.<\/p>\n

According<\/a> to Dave McMenamin of ESPN: \u201cA source familiar with the talks told ESPN that while Finney-Smith has interest in returning to L.A., he could look elsewhere for a multiyear deal if the only way to stay with the Lakers is to opt into his deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Therefore, it\u2019s safe to assume that the Lakers and Dorian could not reach an agreement on the terms of a new long-term deal.<\/p>\n

The Risk of Losing Him for Nothing<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If the Lakers fail to re-sign him, they lose a trusted locker room presence and Redick\u2019s go-to defender. Worse, they gave up three second-round picks to Brooklyn to get him. Losing Finney-Smith for nothing would sting.<\/p>\n

Yet his exit could free up the Lakers\u2019 entire $14.1 million Non-taxpayer’s midlevel exception. With that money, Rob Pelinka could split the NMLE on multiple veterans or target younger talent like Nickeil Alexander-Walker<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This flexibility only works if the front office has a clear plan. Otherwise, re-signing Finney-Smith remains the safest option for roster stability \u2014 especially while trying to lock down Don\u010di\u0107 long-term.<\/p>\n

A Critical Offseason for Los Angeles<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Lakers face a pivotal summer. LeBron\u2019s commitment hinges on the roster. Luka\u2019s extension talks add more weight. Dorian Finney-Smith declining his player option adds another variable to an uncertain dynamic.<\/p>\n

The front office must choose between cap flexibility and keeping proven players. The clock is ticking.<\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES \u2013 Los Angeles Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith has declined his $15.4 million player option for next season. This decision makes him an unrestricted free agent starting July 1. Dorian Finney-Smith declining his player option choice puts the Lakers in an interesting spot. Finney-Smith could still return to L.A., but rival contenders want the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":147757,"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":[62,1608,26,3],"tags":[2272,38,2113,4975,4557,947,2389],"class_list":["post-147745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-news","tag-dorian-finney-smith","tag-lebron-james","tag-nba-contract-extension","tag-nba-contracts","tag-nba-offseason","tag-nickeil-alexander-walker","tag-rich-paul"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147745","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=147745"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147745\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147778,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147745\/revisions\/147778"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}