Lakers acquire Dorian Finney-Smith by trading D'Angelo Russell to the Nets

He’s not a big name, but it’s a big trade.

The Lakers have acquired Dorian Finney-Smith, a multiple-positional defender shooting 43.5% from three-point range this season, in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets without surrendering any of L.A.'s future first-round draft picks — a deal that improves two big areas of need while keeping the door open for future moves.

The team announced Sunday afternoon that it sent D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and second-round picks in 2029, 2030 and 2031 to the Nets for Finney-Smith and reserve guard Shake Milton. The move, the Lakers hope, bolsters their improving defense while giving their offense one of the most efficient catch-and-shoot players in the league this season.

Finney-Smith, 31, is averaging 10.4 points and 4.6 rebounds while attempting 5.4 threes in 20 games. He’s capable of defending guards, forwards and centers, making him one of the league’s most versatile players on that end of the court and a prototypical piece for the style of play coach JJ Redick is trying to instill with the Lakers.

Redick and Finney-Smith were briefly teammates in 2021 when Redick finished his career with the Dallas Mavericks.

“We want to thank D’Angelo for his second stint with us, where we celebrated some great moments and accomplishments on the court together." said Rob Pelinka, the Lakers' general manager and vice president of basketball operations, in a statement released by the team. "We want to wish him and Maxwell Lewis well in their future endeavors with the Brooklyn Nets.

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"With this trade, we are thrilled to add the physicality, toughness and elite shooting that Dorian Finney-Smith will bring to our core. We also greatly value the playmaking of Shake Milton. We are excited for our fans to get both of these players out on the court.”

The Lakers will need to decide how he slots into their rotation and whether he replaces either Rui Hachimura or Max Christie in the starting lineup. Finney-Smith essentially has been a full-time starter since the 2019-20 season, when he established himself as a reliable three-point shooter playing for Dallas.

The trade cements Austin Reaves' role as the Lakers’ primary on-ball guard. He had a career-high 16 assists Saturday in a win against Sacramento, pushing the Lakers’ record to 14-3 this season when Reaves has five or more assists. Gabe Vincent will also handle point-guard duties in addition to LeBron James. Vincent, who suffered an oblique injury Saturday, is hoping to return for the Lakers on Tuesday against Cleveland.

The Lakers will have to decide whether to bring Finney-Smith or Hachimura off the bench, assuming they continue to start Christie in the backcourt with Reaves.

Hachimura and Finney-Smith are two of the nine players 6-foot-7 or taller shooting at least 43% on threes this season. While Hachimura has shown improvements on the defensive end, Finney-Smith is regarded as being much stronger on that end of the court.

The Lakers managed to make the deal to the surprise of multiple rival NBA executives without including a first-round pick. Memphis, according to people with knowledge of the talks, was discussing a deal that included a protected first-round pick that would’ve landed them Finney-Smith before the Lakers swooped in to close the deal.

The trade ends a long stretch of uncertainty for Russell, with the former No. 2 overall pick seemingly on the trade block since the Lakers re-acquired him in the trade that sent out Russell Westbrook in 2023.

Russell helped the Lakers reach the Western Conference finals that season, and his play in the second half of last season helped push the Lakers to 47 wins. Russell set the Lakers' record for most made threes in a season with 226.

But concerns about his defense and playoff performances along with the emergence of Reaves helped push Russell to the bench this season, and with the Lakers improving on defense, the point guard saw his minutes and offensive opportunities cut.

This season, Russell has averaged 12.4 points and 26.3 minutes a game, while seeing his three-point shooting drop from 41.5% last season to 33.3% this season. In the final year of his contract, Russell returns to the Nets, where he made his lone All-Star appearance in 2019.

A person close to Russell told The Times on condition of anonymity that he’s excited about the return to Brooklyn and the chance to establish his value heading into free agency next offseason. People inside the Lakers' front office and locker room also praised Russell for accepting a lesser role with the team this season without becoming a distraction, showing a true team-first commitment.

Lewis, the Lakers' second-round pick in 2023, never found a consistent role with the team and spent nearly all of his tenure with the organization playing in the G League.

Milton, 28, is averaging 7.4 points in 27 games for the Nets this season while making 38.9% of his three-point shots. He’s viewed by scouts as a streaky second-unit shooter with the ability to get the ball to the basket while also having some utility as a complimentary ball-handler.

Finney-Smith can become a free agent after the season if he chooses. He holds a player option for $15.4 million next season. Milton is due $2.9 million this season and has two more years left on his deal, but both are non-guaranteed.

The trade gives the Lakers financial flexibility under the NBA’s second-apron threshold, a salary-cap mechanism that severely limits the ways teams can conduct trades and signings. The Lakers moved to more than $3 million below the second apron after the deal.

Acquiring Finney-Smith and sending out Russell likely means the Lakers will not be involved in deals for maximum-salary players such as Zach LaVine. Russell’s expiring contract was a necessary piece in most of those trade constructions.

Also, by including their 2031 second-round pick, the Lakers can only now trade their 2031 first-round pick if it’s unprotected. League rules prohibit teams from trading picks more than seven years out, so any protection on a traded 2031 first-round pick would need to convey to a second-rounder. And the Lakers currently are without one.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.