Lakers' Offer to Dorian Finney-Smith Reportedly Revealed After Rockets Contract
The Los Angeles Lakers offered forward Dorian Finney-Smith a two-year deal before he signed with the Houston Rockets in free agency, according to The Athletic's Dan Woike.
Finney-Smith signed a four-year, $53 million deal with the Rockets on Monday, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.
He had previously opted out of a $15.4 million player option with the Lakers in order to become a free agent.
The Lakers offered two years to the forward "because they wanted to maintain as much future flexibility as possible to be in position to land a superstar down the line to pair with Dončić," according to Woike.
Following Finney-Smith's departure, Charania reported that the Lakers quickly offered a shorter-term deal to another wing by agreeing to a two-year, $12 million contract with Jake LaRavia.
Woike described LaRavia as the Lakers' "top wing target" if the franchise couldn't retain Finney-Smith for another season.
LaRavia will help fill in at wing for the Lakers, and Finney-Smith's departure leaves the Lakers with access to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception (h/t ESPN's Bobby Marks) which they could potentially use to fill in a lingering need at center.
Losing Finney-Smith after half a season is still a loss given that the Lakers gave up a package including three future second-round picks to acquire his expiring contract from the Brooklyn Nets in December.
The Lakers will now hope LaRavia, who averaged 6.9 points and 3.9 rebounds off the bench during a 2024-25 season split between the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings, can help fill in for Finney-Smith on a deal that allows the franchise more flexibility to build around Dončić going forward.
