Before last season, calling for the signing of Dorian Finney-Smith would have been more than understandable. Two years after being a key trade piece for Kyrie Irving, Finney-Smith found himself first in Brooklyn and then in LA after a few consecutive deals left him as the prime trade target for a contender seeking a three-and-D forward.
When the LA Lakers declined to sign him to a new deal in free agency, the NBA world collectively shook its heads and questioned where the Lakers would find a replacement for his shooting and defense, and if letting one of Luka Dončić's all-time favorite teammates walk was a good sign.
Well, the Lakers were right. DFS absolutely sucked this year.
The Houston Rockets signed the forward to a four-year, 52-million-dollar deal at the start of free agency ahead of last season, only to see him average three points per game and be largely unplayable on a team that never had a forward hole to begin with.
Just a year later, the Rockets immediately went out of their way to dump him to the Charlotte Hornets for three second-rounders and cash.
Earlier on Tuesday afternoon, it was reported that he had been rerouted to Atlanta for Ryan Nembhard, the brother of Indiana Pacers standout Andrew Nembhard, and Pacers legend Buddy Hield.
Finney-Smith may be stuck in Atlanta for the long haul. After all, his contract is certainly not small. However, his deal becomes non-guaranteed after this season. Maybe a buyout makes sense if he wants another bite at the apple and his 26 million dollars of his current contract are already bound to go up in smoke.
If he is available for nothing on the open market, the Pacers could do worse than hope Dorian regains the form he was in less than 400 days ago.
A-Dorian Finney-Smith
There's so much to love about DFS on this Pacers team if he can simply hit his shots again. After a season in which he was at 48% from the field and 41% from deep, Finney-Smith cratered his efficiency in a Rockets jersey, collapsing all the way down to a nasty 33% in total and 27% on threes.
For those not counting at home, that's a swing of -15% and -14% respectively.
That cannot possibly be the truth of who Finney-Smith is now. It's undeniable that the 33-year-old is at an age where players start taking a step back, but losing a third of your shooting percentages is too swift to be realistic.
No, maybe he is simply a league-average shooter today. Maybe he is simply a corner three merchant who got to play alongside Luka for many of the notable years of his career. Maybe he is not worth a look, and this washed-up shot chucker is just who he is now.
But just as that may be the case, the inverse can also be true. He could still be a capable shooter whose efficiency suffered as part of a team that had no real playmaking. He could be a rebounder and defender who was buried on a team too willing to spend to contemplate fit.
The Pacers need another option on the wings to fill out their rotation, especially someone who can play the three and the four. Finney-Smith does exactly that, and he would flourish alongside a playmaker like Tyrese Haliburton, who may be the only player in the NBA better than Luka at creating open corner threes.
The risk is zero, and the reward could be fixing the Pacers' only remaining flaw.
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