top of page
Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
2022 Free Agents - Dorian Finney-Smith
Summary
After shooting just 31% from three during his first three seasons in the league, Finney-Smith improved to hit 38% from downtown in '19-'20 and 40% in '20-'21. The majority of his attempts come from three, as he benefits from open spot-ups created by playing next to Luka Doncic. He has some off-the-dribble game in that he can attack hard closeouts. He is an underrated passer as he has the skills/vision to make some passes off a live dribble, but certainly isn't someone you want dominating the ball on offense. He's also a very good offensive rebounder for his position.
On the defensive end, Finney-Smith is usually tasked with guarding the best opposing wing. He isn't quite at an All-NBA level defender, but he's very good. He doesn't get a lot of steals but he has the size and length to guard multiple positions.
Finney-Smith is one of those guys where you love it if he's your worst starter, as he can thrive in the role of just needing to play defense and hit open spot-ups attempts. He will be 29 when he hits free agency in the summer of 2022, so this will likely be his last chance at a big contract, and will likely want to lock in as much long-term money as possible. I think any contender would love to have Finney-Smith, but unfortunately for him not many contenders will have cap space, and most will not even have the full Nontaxpayer MLE available.
Cap Considerations
Finney-Smith will be an unrestricted free agent with a $7.6 million cap hold and full Bird Rights. Since the Mavs will likely be operating over the salary cap, they will retain Finney-Smith's Bird rights, and have no restrictions on re-signing him. If a player has a smaller cap hold than his starting salary, his team can use cap space to sign-free agents before using Bird Rights to re-sign its own free agents.
Since the Mavs will likely not have cap room, Finney-Smith's cap hold will not play a factor. Depending on how close the Mavs are to the luxury tax after free agency, if Finney-Smith is brought back by the Mavs on a multi-year contract they could benefit from frontloading his contract, as it could give them additional flexibility in the future.
If Finney-Smith demands a starting salary of more than the full $10.1 million Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception, only teams with cap space will be able to sign him (unless a sign-and-trade is completed), but it's possible that he could be had for the full MLE.
Potential Teams: Mavericks, Hornets, Bulls, Knicks, Wizards
Predicted Contract: 4-year, $52 million with the Mavericks
Actual Contract: 4-year, $55.6 million, 4th year player option, 5% trade bonus, with the Mavericks
Finney-Smith signed an extension during the '21-'22 season for the maximum allowed given his current salary, which ended up being close to what I predicted. He also got a player option and trade bonus, so he did well given there were going to be few teams with cap space in 2022.
Last updated: 3/5/2022
bottom of page