Hearing his name from the latest trade rumblings, Dorian Finney-Smith knows exactly the ongoing situation.
For him, the latest buzz that clips his name just comes in like nothing new – given the business nature of the NBA.
“Obviously, first and foremost, I know it’s a business,” Finney-Smith told Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News about recent trade rumos. “I’ve been lucky, one of the lucky ones, to be in the same place for my whole career. It’s just outside noise.
“My family, my daughter who’s 12, who’s on the Internet, she sees my name pop up on [websites] and stuff like that. She asks me if I’m going to get traded and stuff like that, but it’s just one of those things. It’s part of it. I haven’t experienced it yet, personally, but I know it most likely is going to happen. Hopefully not, but you just never know.”
Finney-Smith, 29, stands as one of the key veterans of the Dallas Mavericks. Upon his entry to the team in 2016 as an undrafted prospect out of Florida, he worked his way up to elevate his value and become a reliable role player of his own.
The wingman has been in Dallas for the entirety of his career, but it appears that time is already ticking for him to end that tenure as a Maverick. Recent murmurs suggest that he’s been gaining significant interest from several teams, much even fueled by a report that the franchise brass made everyone available for transaction, but with the exception of superstar Luka Doncic.
With his length, size, defense, and shooting, Finney-Smith is truly being coveted in today’s modern game due to his 3-and-D traits and tendencies. This year for the Mavs, he is averaging 8.8 points and 4.5 boards while shooting 34.6 percent from three.
“It’s one of those things that I created value in this league,” he said about his play. “That’s a good thing, but other teams, the organization, got to do what’s best for them. They’re not always going to make the best decisions in your favor.”
In the end, the fact that he still remains in the league with all his hard work and sacrifice, Finney-Smith can only be grateful for his situation.
“My family knows now that I don’t pay attention to none of that. I ain’t really trying to talk about trades. If it happens, it happens,” Finney-Smith continued.
“I played on three minimum [contracts] my first three years, non-guaranteed, so I always felt like I had that chip on my shoulder where I got to appreciate every moment and make sure my play is up.”
