The Los Angeles Lakers appear to have finally completed a trade as they reportedly acquired Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton from the Brooklyn Nets for D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks.

Finney-Smith is a player the Lakers have had interest in for some time as a 3-and-D winger with size. He should give LA a level of defensive prowess that the team had previously lacked.

One person who has to be excited about this trade is Lakers head coach JJ Redick, who was Finney-Smith’s teammate on the Dallas Mavericks for a time during the 2020-21 season. When Redick spoke about Finney-Smith on his podcast back in the day, he expressed what a big fan he was.

“The one guy I just have to highlight because I love watching him play and I’ve been playing against him for a few years now and he does so many things that just don’t show up in the box score and that is Dorian Finney-Smith.”, as he is affectionately known as “Dodo.” Dodo, he’s just a great player. He is a player who can fit into any team in the NBA. I think he’s incredibly valuable,” Redick said. “Great defender, hardworking, makes all the plays. He had a block last night, we had a few miscommunications in transition and I think it was a six-point game or an eight-point game in the fourth and Khris Middleton came down the middle of the lane and Dodo came out of nowhere and blocked the shot. They originally called it a foul, we got a challenge, it was obviously a clean block when you saw it on the replay, so we got the jump ball. From there we just controlled the rest of the game and pulled away, it was a great play and he makes plays like that all the time.”

Redick would also praise Finney-Smith on social media in 2022:

How can you not love DFS?

— JJ Redick (@jj_redick) May 8, 2022

It will be interesting to see if Redick chooses to start Finney-Smith or bring him off the bench, but regardless, the Lakers now have another versatile defender to add to the mix, as well as a backup point guard Guard who can shoot with Milton.

JJ Redick talked about the possibility of a Lakers trade

A few days before the Lakers finally made a deal, JJ Redick spoke about the possibility and the confidence he still had in his team.

“Rob and I talk all the time, but my focus is coaching this group and trying to get the best out of this group,” Redick said after the Lakers’ practice Friday. “Honestly, I think we can compete if this group is healthy. If a step needs to be taken, a step needs to be taken. But I’m focused on this group.”

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