The Los Angeles Lakers are bracing for the departure of Dorian Finney-Smith in free agency, as he is expected to sign a multi-year contract with the Houston Rockets.
Finney-Smith chose to decline his $15.4 million player option with the Lakers in order to explore opportunities on the open market.
The Lakers originally acquired Finney-Smith from the Brooklyn Nets last December in exchange for D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis, and three second-round draft picks.
The Rockets plan to use their non-taxpayer midlevel exception to offer Finney-Smith a new deal, seeing him as a valuable piece to help replace Dillon Brooks, who was traded away.
Finney-Smith is reportedly comfortable accepting a bench role with the Rockets, given that their starting lineup is expected to feature Fred VanVleet, Amen Thompson, Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith Jr., and Alperen Sengun.
Represented by agent Michael Tellem, Finney-Smith averaged 8.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.4 assists last season while shooting an efficient 41.1 percent from three-point range during his time split between the Nets and Lakers.
Prior to his recent stops, Finney-Smith spent several seasons with the Dallas Mavericks.
Lakers Preparing For Dorian Finney-Smith To Sign With Rockets https://t.co/ya48aZfJLv
— RealGM (@RealGM) June 30, 2025
