One of the first moves in NBA free agency saw Dorian Finney-Smith sign with the Houston Rockets.
Dorian Finney-Smith was traded in December 2024 from the Brooklyn Nets to the LA Lakers, and it appeared to be the perfect fit.
Lakers coach JJ Redick quickly embraced Finney-Smith, and was then able to pair him up with his former Mavericks teammate Luka Doncic.
The union was short-lived, with Finney-Smith and the Lakers parting on bad terms in free agency, as he chose to join the Houston Rockets.
He declined a $15m option with the Lakers to sign a four-year $53m deal with the Rockets, adding to their new look roster.
The Lakers used the money to sign Jake LaRavia and Deandre Ayton, landing the center they desperately needed.
But there was some bad blood involved too, with Zach Lowe saying: ‘I don’t think they ended on very good terms.”
GM Rob Pelinka was accused of trying to lower Finney-Smith’s free agency value by expressing his concerns over Finney-Smith’s ankle injury, which the player’s camp were not happy with.
Photo by Kenneth Richmond/Getty ImagesDorian Finney-Smith will miss the start of the season
Dorian Finney-Smith underwent surgery on his injured ankle, and the Houston Chronicle reports he will miss the start of the NBA season, including the tip-off against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
He has not yet been cleared for contact. The number of games he will miss is uncertain.
This update has prompted quite the response from LA Lakers fans, who believe Rob Pelinka has been vindicated.
“Lakers dodged a bullet he’s gonna be dealing with this all year,” one fan wrote on X.
“Bro tried to slander the Lakers for thinking he had injury issues,” another added.
“Ooo so LA wasn’t being cheap after all I see,” a third wrote.
“So Pelinka wasn’t lying,” another comment read, while another fan posted: “Respect Pelinka”.
“Rob knows ball,” another wrote.
“Pelinka might have cooked here,” another fan gloated.
Another headache for the Houston Rockets
The injury is a problem for the Houston Rockets, who were recently rocked by Fred VanVleet tearing his ACL.
Finney-Smith’s injury is a short-term issue, but it leaves them another man short for the opener against a deep OKC Thunder team.
Houston have some depth too, also adding Kevin Durant and Clint Capela in the offseason. And while they were certainly be competitive against OKC, they will be the underdogs.