If the Los Angeles Lakers were hoping to impress former player Chandler Parsons by trading for Dorian Finney-Smith on Sunday, then the move is already a failure. Parsons spoke about the move on the Run It Back podcast with his co-hosts Lou Williams and Michelle Beadle, and while he opined that the move didn’t move the needle towards championship contention for the Lakers, his comments came off as confusing, at best.
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Chandler first characterized the trade as “the least interesting thing that happened all week,” and “a lateral move,” but he then went on to say that D’Angelo Russell’s time in L.A. “had run its course” and that Finney-Smith will help the Lakers because he’ll know his role within the offense. Which is it?
Lakers acquiring Dorian Finney-Smith doesn't "move the needle" or make them a contender 😳
"It's probably the least interesting thing that happened all week, in my opinion. To me it's a lateral move."@ChandlerParsons also thinks it was time for DLo and LA to part ways pic.twitter.com/W8mlWuBi7Z
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) December 30, 2024
Chandler’s issue with the move seems to be that Finney-Smith isn’t a big star that will catapult the L.A. into immediate championship contention, but it’s unlikely that the Lakers could have made a huge deal for a big name given who’s available and what they had to offer.
General manager Rob Pelinka is constrained by the presence of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and their outsized contracts, and every move needs to be done with the salary cap in mind. This move actually helped L.A. in that department, as it gave them a bit more wiggle room below the second apron.
Does the Dorian Finney-Smith trade make sense for the Lakers?
Parsons doesn’t seem to know what he believes about this trade, as he went on to say the following after stating his respect for Finney-Smith and his 3-and-D game but also saying that he didn’t think the trade would move the needle for the Lakers or put them in a new category of contention:
“I feel like they’re not done, I feel like there’s something else coming, I feel like this is just kinda the beginning of it, but I do love Dorian Finney-Smith, and he’s a great 3-and-D player. It’s just not really what [the Lakers] need in my eyes. I think it’s a good move for both.”
It’s fair for Parsons to not feel like this makes the Lakers championship contenders, but that shouldn’t be the only requirement for pulling the trigger on a trade. L.A. is currently tied for fifth in the West with an 18-13 record, though they’ve been playing well lately by winning five out of their last six.
What doesn’t make sense is if Parsons likes Finney-Smith’s game and his potential fit in the Lakers’ offense, and he thinks it was time for Russell to move on, then why doesn’t he think it’s what the Lakers need? That’s to say nothing of the defensive upgrade that Finney-Smith also brings to the table, plus the cap help this move provides.
The move just happened, so we’ll forgive Parsons for not having completely coherent thoughts on it just yet. It will take time to see whether this move ends up being a positive one for the Lakers, but on paper it makes a lot of sense. We’ll see if he’s more impressed if the Lakers are able to continue moving up the standings with Finney-Smith aboard.
