General Manager Rob Pelinka of the Los Angeles Lakers speaks with the media during a press conference.<\/p>\n
One of the Los Angeles Lakers\u2018 priorities this summer is to retain Dorian Finney-Smith, who has a $15.4 million player option for next season.<\/p>\n
John Hollinger of The Athletic suggested a pathway for the Lakers to keep Finney-Smith while avoiding dipping into the first apron to have more flexibility. Hollinger called this trick the \u201cdecline-and-sign\u201d pathway that should be up Lakers vice president and general manager Rob Pelinka\u2019s sleeves this summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe idea is that L.A. can get Finney-Smith to decline his player option for $15.4 million for 2025-26 in return for re-signing on a longer deal for less money. The risk of overpaying on the back end of the deal (Finney-Smith turns 32 this summer) is offset by managing the immediate tax situation by shaving a few million off his 2025-26 cap number,\u201d Hollinger wrote.<\/p>\n
DFS\u2019 Real Value to Lakers<\/p>\n
Lakers rookie coach JJ Redick has credited Finney-Smith for the team\u2019s defensive turnaround.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s brought a level of toughness,\u201d Redick said, per Clutchpoints\u2019 Erik Slater. \u201cCertainly communication and the spirit to want to defend. I think guys have responded well to who he is as a player, a teammate, a person. He\u2019s just fit right in. Our season kind of turned around, and the energy and spirit of our group turned around when we got him. He\u2019s been huge for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Lakers are 25-14 since they acquired Finney-Smith and reserve guard Shake Milton from the Brooklyn Nets for D\u2019Angelo Russell, seldom-used second-year forward Maxwell Lewis and three future second-round draft picks on Dec. 29 last year.<\/p>\n
Their record with Finney-Smith in the lineup is 22-10. The Lakers jumped from 21st in defensive rating before his arrival to No. 1 for close to two months since Jan. 15 before cratering in the wake of the rash of injuries to their key players.<\/p>\n
On top of Finney-Smith\u2019s defensive presence, his closeness and chemistry with Luka Don\u010di\u0107 is also of value to the Lakers, who are hoping to lock up the Slovenian star for the next decade to be their franchise star.<\/p>\n
Motivation Behind \u2018Decline-And-Sign\u2019 Move<\/p>\n
According to Hollinger, the motivation for the Lakers to go the \u201cdecline-and-sign\u201d route to retain Finney-Smith is for them to \u201cleave enough wiggle room under the first apron.\u201d Such a move will give the Lakers access to the non-taxpayer midlevel exception to sign or trade for a starting-caliber center this summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a tight squeeze right now, even if the Lakers decline Shake Milton\u2019s $3 million nonguaranteed deal. They might even consider stretching Maxi Kleber\u2019s $11 million to generate the necessary space, especially since they\u2019re running out of draft picks to put into trades to incentivize a deal,\u201d Hollinger wrote.<\/p>\n
The former Memphis Grizzlies top executive also added that this \u201cdecline-and-sign\u201d option also \u201cexists for [LeBron] James as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just like last year, James could also take another paycut to help the Lakers get more wiggle room to retain Finney-Smith and add another significant player either from free agency or via trade.<\/p>\n
No Hometown Discount?<\/p>\n
The veteran forward has hinted that he will not be taking a discount.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see what just happened with Luka (Don\u010di\u0107)? Finney-Smith said in a recent interview with Hoopshype.<\/p>\n
The shocking trade of Don\u010di\u0107 put all NBA players on notice. Loyalty to the team doesn\u2019t guarantee their future.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, you\u2019ve got to make sure you take care of yourself first,\u201d Finney-Smith quickly added. \u201cWe need to finish the season strong. If we win, everybody eats (smiles).\u201d<\/p>\n
The Lakers were only limited to offering Finney-Smith a maximum of three years, $56.4 million after they traded for him in December. They could offer him the full four-year deal in the offseason.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
General Manager Rob Pelinka of the Los Angeles Lakers speaks with the media during a press conference. One of the Los Angeles Lakers\u2018 priorities this summer is to retain Dorian Finney-Smith, who has a $15.4 million player option for next season. John Hollinger of The Athletic suggested a pathway for the Lakers to keep Finney-Smith […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28548,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2586],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lakers"],"yoast_head":"\n