Report: Dorian Finney-Smith, Shake Milton Set to Make Lakers Debuts After Nets Trade

Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton are reportedly set to debut for the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Finney-Smith and Milton passed their physicals and have been cleared to play for their new team.

The Lakers and Brooklyn Nets agreed to a trade Sunday that sent D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks to Brooklyn in exchange for Finney-Smith and Milton.

L.A. has had an up-and-down season thus far, but it is in the thick of the playoff race, as its 18-13 record is tied with the Denver Nuggets for sixth in the Western Conference.

The Lakers have seemingly been looking for the right combination of players to put around LeBron James and Anthony Davis ever since they last won a championship in 2020, and both Finney-Smith and Milton could be in line to become important members of the supporting cast.

Finney-Smith, 31, is a ninth-year NBA veteran who previously played for the Dallas Mavericks and Nets.

In 20 games this season, he is averaging 10.4 points per game, which is the second-best scoring output of his career. He is also putting up 4.6 rebounds, 2.4 three-pointers made and 1.6 assists per contest, while shooting 45.9 percent from the field and a career-best 43.5 percent from beyond the arc.

Finney-Smith also has positional versatility, as he is the only player in the NBA this season who defends guards, forwards and centers each for at least 15 half-court matchups per game, per Second Spectrum (h/t Charania).

DFS is the type of 3-and-D player that contending teams are always looking for, and he should be among the Lakers’ most important players outside of James and Davis, along with Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and rookie Dalton Knecht.

The 28-year-old Milton has been a nomadic player in recent years, as the Lakers will mark his sixth different team since the 2022-23 season.

After splitting 48 games between the Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks last season, Milton appeared in 27 games for the Nets this season, averaging 7.4 points, 2.4 assists, 1.9 rebounds and 1.0 three-pointer made per game.

His best season by far came in 2020-21 as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers when he averaged 13.0 points, 3.1 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.1 three-pointers made per contest en route to finishing 12th in the NBA Sixth Man of the Year voting.

Finney-Smith and Milton will face a tough challenge in their first game with the Lakers, as they will take on a Cavs team that has the NBA’s best record at 28-4.