A potential golden target for the Philadelphia 76ers is now off the board.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the Los Angeles Lakers have acquired Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton from the Brooklyn Nets for D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis, and three second-round picks.
Once the Nets traded Dennis Schroder, they sent a clear message to the rest of the NBA that they were starting their rebuild.
Finney-Smith had been floated as a potential trade target for the Sixers. His contract is very affordable for his services, as he’s owed almost $15 million this season.
The Sixers had the means to get him with the expendable contracts they have on payroll. Because it took only three second-round picks to get a deal done, it goes without saying that the Sixers could have gotten in on this.
Alas, Finney-Smith is a Laker, and the Sixers will have to look elsewhere for another 3&D wing.
How this could benefit the Sixers
The most shocking part is that it did not cost the Lakers a first-round pick to acquire Finney-Smith. At the same time, the fact that he went for that low could help the Sixers in trade negotiations if they want a player around his caliber with a similar skillset.
The Sixers don’t have many draft assets to offer, but if the market for players like the newest Laker is that low, the Sixers could acquire a game-changer, even if that player is not the same as Finney-Smith.
This isn’t the end of the world for Philadelphia, though Finney-Smith would have helped with their shooting and perimeter defense.
The Sixers have missed out on targets before, and they’ve picked themselves up. Now that another domino has fallen in trading season, more eyes will be on what the Sixers do with one of the better players off the market.
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