Newest Laker, Former Maverick Compares Luka Doncic and LeBron James

The Los Angeles Lakers made a trade over the weekend with the Brooklyn Nets to acquire former Dallas Maverick Dorian Finney-Smith. DFS is a high-level 3&D wing shooting a career-high from three and is about to start getting open feeds from LeBron James, one of the greatest players to ever do it.

Lakers coach JJ Redick, another former Maverick, was a teammate of Finney-Smith in Dallas and was a big fan of his game, so it makes sense that LA made this move. Finney-Smith is also excited to play with LeBron, a player he sees in a similar light to Luka Doncic.

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“Ah man, I can’t wait! (I can) get back to shooting corner 3’s,” Finney-Smith said to the media when asked about the shot quality coming his way. “Over the last 2 years, I’ve been shooting more above-the-break 3’s, but I know ‘Bron, he sling that ball to the corner. I already played with Luka – probably the best two guys at finding guys in that corner.”

Finney-Smith spent seven years in Dallas, averaging 8.3 PPG and 36% from three across his time. He’s had a great career for an undrafted player and will continue that in LA.

Doncic called Finney-Smith one of his favorite teammates of all time during the 2023-24 season and likely hoped they could bring him back this year. He’ll have to wait a little longer for that reunion to happen, though. The Mavericks traded DFS away in the deal that brought Kyrie Irving to Dallas, a move that set them on the path to the NBA Finals in 2024. While it hurt to let him go, it was a necessary move at the time.

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