Los Angeles Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith underwent surgery on his left ankle and is expected to be able to participate in training camp ahead of the 2025-26 NBA season, sources told ESPN. The procedure will allow the 31-year-old Finney-Smith to play pain free after cleaning up a lingering ankle injury that he fought to play through the last several seasons.
One guy, as I look through teams, that I feel could be an ideal target for the Grizzlies is Herb Jones. I’d love it if they could get a guy like Herb Jones. I’m curious—now that the Pelicans have changed their front office—who knows how they feel about anyone on their roster? Herb’s mostly been a negative offensively in his career, but he’s an elite on-ball defender. I think he fits the archetype Memphis has been going for—when they had Dillon Brooks, tried to replace him with Marcus Smart, and then wanted Dorian Finney-Smith. I feel like that might be the higher end of the realistic outcomes—if the Pelicans are open to doing something like that.
I just think it’s worth saying. The Pelicans—who knows what’s going to happen there now that they’ve completely changed their front office. But that would be a really good and sneaky addition. He’s not a huge, expensive, big-name guy, but in NBA circles, I think he’s a pretty big name. He’s someone that would be a really good fit. I think he’d really complete that starting five—that closing five. -via YouTube / May 13, 2025
Three days after trading Anthony Davis to Dallas for Doncic, the Lakers orchestrated a deal with the Charlotte Hornets to land 7-footer Mark Williams, a tantalizing but injury-prone young center who was supposed to provide Doncic a vertical threat around the rim other than Jaxson Hayes.
Williams was Doncic’s preferred lob partner out of a list of potential trade targets and told the team so, sources said, after Doncic had been so effective with Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford in Dallas. The deal was agreed upon the night before the trade deadline, a buzzer-beater by the Lakers’ front office after already successfully negotiating the Doncic deal and the acquisition of Dorian Finney-Smith from the Brooklyn Nets in late December.
Only Williams never suited up for L.A. He failed the team’s physical examination, and the Lakers “just couldn’t live with what they saw,” a source with knowledge of the subject told ESPN. -via ESPN / May 2, 2025
