A player left the Los Angeles Lakers on bad terms during NBA free agency, and it could affect whether Luka Doncic re-signs with the team.
The Lakers have not approached their NBA offseason in the way most expected. Instead of aggressively pursuing pieces to fill the holes in their roster and holding onto players, they have opted for a long-term goal.
Their target is the 2027 offseason. They want a clean salary bill to go after big-name free agents and build around their star man, Doncic. Their long-sighted approach has breathed life into rumours that LeBron James may be traded.
But after one of their integral pieces from last season left the team on bad terms this summer, the Lakers may need to be wary of their other superstar walking out the door as well.
Dorian Finney-Smith left on bad terms after negotiations went ‘badly’, says Zach Lowe
One of the key players for the Lakers to re-sign this offseason, if they had aspirations of a championship, was “three and D” wing Dorian Finney-Smith.
Finney-Smith provided crucial defence on the perimeter, filling the hole left by Doncic in that department, and hit key shots in big moments down the stretch of the season.
It was expected that he would be re-signed by the Lakers as they bolstered their roster, but instead, he was allowed to walk out the door with a sour taste in his mouth, according to The Ringer’s Zach Lowe.
He said on the Zach Lowe Show, “On Saturday, I said keep an eye on the Finney-Smith situation. That’s gonna be the tell for me for how the Lakers are thinking about things cause I heard negotiations were going badly.”
He continued, “And I said, ‘will he even opt out? Do the Lakers even want to even pay him?’ The answer to that turned out to be no they didn’t want to pay him and he opted out and I don’t think they ended on very good terms either.”
On his podcast, Bill Simmons expanded on this, recounting reports that Lakers’ General Manager Rob Pelinka was spreading mistruths around the league in order to sign him for cheaper.
He said on The Bill Simmons Podcast, “The Lakers screwed up the Finney-Smith thing. He and his agent felt like Pelinka was negging his value in the open market and telling teams he was hurt, and they found out about it.
“I think the Lakers thought he was coming back, and that they were going to get a center. That was going to be their summer plan. Instead, they lose him.”
Moves such as these make the Lakers one of the losers of the offseason, which is sure to have hit the radar of Doncic as he considers his future.
Luka Doncic had a close friendship with Dorian Finney-Smith
The Lakers, through their actions so far this summer, have made it clear to LeBron James that their future plans don’t involve him. They will be building around their new superstar, Doncic, instead.
It would make sense, therefore, having pushed away one of the NBA’s all-time greats, to keep their other superstar happy. But it seems the Lakers don’t have any intention of doing that either.
Finney-Smith and Doncic have a personal friendship, which started during their time playing together for the Dallas Mavericks.
Finney-Smith was later traded from the Mavericks, and when the pair played against each other, Doncic predicted they would be on the same team again in the future.
“That’s my guy,” Doncic said in the postgame interview. “I miss him so much. And I know at some point, we’re gonna play again, for sure. That’s my guy.”
Doncic was delighted, therefore, to be back playing with his old friend on the Lakers. But now he’s gone, and was treated badly. That can’t sit well with the five-time All-Star.
His current contract includes a player option for the 2026-27 season, which means he could opt out and become an unrestricted free agent as early as the 2026 offseason.
He’s going nowhere for now, but if Lakers don’t give him a reason to stay, Doncic could well be on his way out next summer. They should probably start treating his friends better.