The things that the Lakers And LeBron James Our favorite thing about Dorian Finney-Smith are the things that kept Finney-Smith from enjoying his battles against the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
“That’s probably the first time I said anything to him. I’ve been guarding him for nine years, but I’m just not very friendly on the field,” Finney-Smith said Monday in Los Angeles.
Just because Finney-Smith is known for his toughness and willingness to take on brutal defensive assignments doesn’t mean his first conversation with James would be about what battles the Lakers would be fighting now that they’re teammates.
Instead, Finney-Smith saw an opportunity.
“I just have to pull down this canvas and ask him ‘give me some of these shoes’. I can finally request some of this equipment,” Finney-Smith said. “You never know when he’s going to hang up. It was fun being able to ask him something, knowing I wouldn’t have to compete with him tomorrow.
“… He said he got me. The hardest part is over. I asked. I broke the glass.”
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He has the equipment, now he is ready to play important matches.
“I’m excited,” he said. “I’m back playing meaningful basketball. It’s been a while, but I’m excited.
The Lakers broke the window of their Sunday shopping marketsending D’Angelo RussellMaxwell Lewis and three future second-round picks to Brooklyn for Finney-Smith and guard Shake Milton.
Finney-Smith, 31, has played in 20 games this season and is averaging 10.4 points and 4.6 rebounds while attempting 5.4 three-pointers per game and making 43.5 percent. Milton, 28, is averaging 7.4 points in 27 games with the Nets this season while making 38.9 percent of his three-point shots.
Both players attended — but did not participate in — the team’s practice Monday in hopes of playing Tuesday against Cleveland, provided all physicals are completed. The Lakers are also expected to get center Jaxson Hayes back after an extended absence due to an ankle injury. Lakers guard Gabe Vincent did not practice Monday and is questionable to play against the Cavaliers.
Lakers coach JJ Redick said he plans to use Finney-Smith as his backup for now, opting to keep Rui Hachimura in the starting five.
“I already talked to him about it. You know, we’re in a good place right now with our starting group. So (Finney-Smith will play) and he will come off the bench,” Redick said. “And as I’ve told you many times, I want consistency with this group. But I’m not going to be stubborn and lock myself into something if it doesn’t work. But it’s working right now, and Doe is a guy who can fit into any lineup and any type of roster very easily. It’s easy.
“He has the desire to win and compete and it doesn’t matter to him whether he starts or comes off the bench.”
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Typically, in-season trades are a shock to any player’s system, but for Finney-Smith, he has been the subject of trade rumors for the better part of the last two years after Dallas l included in their deal to acquire Kyrie Irving from Brooklyn.
“You hear the noise. But I’m one of them, last year I got tired of it. I was tired of hearing the noise. You start paying a little too much attention to it and you lose sight of where you are,” Finney-Smith said.
“And that’s what happened last year. I thought I was going to move and ended up staying in Brooklyn. So this year I just wanted to be where my feet were. And it was in Brooklyn. So I was just trying – even though I’m human – to get you to think about it. But I just tried to stay where I was, in Brooklyn. So I knew my chances of being traded were high.
“So no matter where it was going to be, I was going to be ready to go because, again, I was already mentally ready to move. But I’m happy to be here. I’m not – I don’t want to say that for that reason – but if you played for Brooklyn, you know what I mean. You don’t want to be the little brother in town. So I’m finally with the big brothers.
Finney-Smith and Milton, oddly enough, were both teammates of Redick during his playing days.
“It gives you a lot of confidence because he knows what you can do, so you don’t have to go out there and try to do something you can’t do,” Finney said -Smith. “So I go out there and be myself. Sometimes what I do, as you say, doesn’t show up in the stat sheet. But as long as we win, I’m happy. So that’s all I want to do here is win, bring good vibes, bring that winning mentality and have fun while doing it.”
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This story was originally published in Los Angeles Times.
