Lotta fun clickbait news floating around and none of it pertaining to the topic I want to know about the most: what will DFS do with his player option this summer? Let’s look at the numbers:
Dorian Finney-Smith
Player option: $15,378,480
PPG: 8.7 (10.4 in Brooklyn, 7.9 in LA)
FG%: 44.8 (45.9 in Brooklyn, 44.2 in LA)
3 Pt FG%: 41.1 (45.9 in Brooklyn, 39.8 in LA)
TRB: 2.7 (3.0 in Brooklyn, 2.5 in LA)
Everything about DFS’s game dropped off after coming to LA and even moreso in the playoffs.
31.8% from three point land, more turnovers than steals and blocks combined and a combined -10 for the 1st round exit. Nothing about that screams “more money” at face value.
Still, guys who can play the role DFS plays are generally valued around $17-25 million (or more if they can hit the three ball more consistently at volume than DFS does) so it wouldn’t surprise me to see him look for some leverage in getting an extension by threatening to opt out.
If he does opt out, it will make re-signing him quite tricky and he may end his lakers career as a half season rental, which would be bad for us. Although it could be argued that we have a wealth of players who play tough defense but don’t score a lot (Vando, Vincent, Goodwin to name 3) and, in all honesty, how many of those guys do we really need?
Should DFS opt out and sign elsewhere it would also have the (kinda) bonus of freeing up a small amount of money under the cap making LBJ’s likely opt in less of an issue. Very slightly less but what teams do in the wiggle room of the margins is what can make or break a roster.
My guess is he opts out. Not sure what he’d get beyond what we’re already paying him beyond more guaranteed years but this is his window to make money and there are enough teams with a decent amount of cap space that can sign him and promise him a starting role that it makes a lot of sense for him to do so.
Thoughts?
Aloha Jamie, he will opt out but we will still have bird rights to resign him. From what I read, he likes LA and is very close with Luka. While 3 and D players are hard to come by there are only a couple of teams that could pay him more than the full MLE. My guess is he resigns with the Lakers, not for a lot more money per se, but for more years.
Free agency market is kinda underwhelming this year. Somebody may pay an elevated price for him if he chooses to opt out because alot of teams believe they’re in the title hunt. He had his moments but just wasnt a great fit for us…let him walk.