Assets of a potential Brooklyn Nets trading partner have “negative value”

The Los Angeles Lakers’ interest in Dorian Finney-Smith is very real. His three-and-D skills are a perfect fit for the Lakers’ championship aspirations, but there’s just one problem regarding a potential deal between LA and the Brooklyn Nets.

When analyzing the Lakers’ entire roster, there are only a select few players the storied franchise would trade away. D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbuilt, Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent are the only real options the Nets could choose from, and all of them have “neutral to negative trade value across the league,” according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

Given the uncertain future of Los Angeles star duo LeBron James and Anthony Davis, it is highly unlikely that they would trade future first-round picks for a player of Finney-Smith’s caliber.

Even if the Nets were to value one of the four available supporting players higher than the rest of their rivals, there is no real fit for some of them. Vincent has looked like a completely different player since his Cinderella run with the Miami Heat in 2022-23, battling injuries all of last season. Russell has already had success once in Brooklyn, but at this point in his career, he would only take opportunities away from the younger members of the roster. Hachimura and Vanderbuilt are the most interesting, but if the Nets were going to trade another versatile winger, why not keep Finney-Smith in the first place?

Ultimately, the two franchises may simply not be a good fit as trading partners.

Want to join the discussion? Like Inside the Nets on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter to stay up to date with all the latest Nets news and meet the team behind the coverage.