Trade Proposal Sends Nets’ Dorian Finney-Smith To Cavaliers

One NBA analyst proposed that the Cleveland Cavaliers acquire Dorian Finney-Smith from the Brooklyn Nets this offseason. 

Dan Favale of Bleacher Report proposed the following trade idea:

Cleveland Cavaliers Receive: Dorian Finney-Smith

Brooklyn Nets Receive: Ty Jerome, Georges Niang, No. 20

Finney-Smith averaged 8.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.6 blocks for the Nets this season while shooting 42.1% from the field, 34.8% from beyond the arc and 71.7% from the free-throw line. He’ll make $14.9 million in 2024-25. 

“Finney-Smith has lost a step or two defensively, but the breadth of his primary assignments is super-valuable, spanning star wings and combo forwards,” Favale wrote in his “1 Trade Idea for Every Team Not in the 2024 NBA Finals” column. “His catch-and-shoot stroke is the larger, albeit not actually massive, concern. He’s dipped below 35 percent on spot-up triples in each of the two previous seasons.

“And yet, the volume Finney-Smith provides from beyond the arc is superior to that of Isaac Okoro (restricted). He also banged in over 40 percent of his standstill treys during the 2021-22 campaign, his last full season in Dallas, alongside a megastar playmaker whose name you might know. Launching off passes from Donovan Mitchell and/or Darius Garland is functionally different from what he’s working with in Brooklyn.”

The Nets missed the playoffs this year, while the Cavaliers lost to the Boston Celtics in the second round in five games.

Finney-Smith has career averages of 8.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.5 blocks with the Dallas Mavericks and Nets. 

“Finney-Smith can sponge up plenty of reps at the 4 himself, and while he’s semi-insurance against Okoro leaving, the duo’s defense is more complementary than not,” Favale wrote. “DFS is better suited against wings and combo forwards. Okoro is most dangerous when deployed against guards.”

The entire offseason for the Cavaliers hinges around Mitchell, who can sign a four-year, $208 million extension. He is under contract for next season and has a $37 million player option for 2025-26.

If Mitchell doesn’t sign an extension with the Cavaliers this offseason, the thought is that Cleveland will look to trade him before free agency in the offseason of 2025.