Nets, Cavs discussed Dorian Finney-Smith for Issac Okoro sign-and-trade

The day the Nets traded Johnson’s longtime friend Mikal Bridges and signaled their intent to tank, that put veterans such as Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Dennis Schroder, Ben Simmons and Bojan Bogdanovic on the trade block.  But the latter trio are all playing on expiring deals, so they could be kept to preserve 2025 cap space. Moving Johnson and Finney-Smith seems logical, with the Johnson projected to fetch more in return.  “We’ve had some conversations with all the vets on the team because it does weigh on people,” Marks said last week. “And I don’t try to sort of breeze over that because it’s a family, and you want to say, ‘Hey, this is a close-knit group.’ It’s a close locker room in there, and when one of their own leaves, it hits home.  -via New York Post / July 23, 2024

Finney-Smith will make $14.9 million next season and has a $15.4 million player option for 2025-26. The 31-year-old seems likely to opt out next summer aiming for one last payday. That means Nets general manager Sean Marks is all the more incentivized to deal him either now or at the trade deadline. Does Finney-Smith hear all the noise? Of course. “I mean, I’m human,” Finney-Smith said. “I’m human. So of course. I’ve got family and stuff always asking me what’s going on and s–t like that. But you know, I’m just honest. So, I’m human, so I’m going to pay attention a little bit. But I can say I’m wherever my feet are at. “I still get to do what I love. I could be in a tougher situation where I’m looking for a job. I know I’m gonna be good regardless. If I’m here, I’m here. If I’m not, I’m not. So I just try to be wherever my feet are at. So I’m a Brooklyn Net right now, and I’m looking forward to competing.” -via New York Post / July 15, 2024

Nets teammates Mikal Bridges and Dorian Finney-Smith were in Dallas working out when they found out they weren’t teammates anymore. The Nets traded away Bridges — and their last vestiges of competitiveness — late last month. And those offseason workouts went from two Nets talking about the upcoming season to two crosstown rivals, which changed the conversation. “He came out there to get some work in with me,” Finney-Smith said. “We still ended up working together, but we started talking trash to each other a little bit because now we’re going to be playing against each other. But that’s my guy, we built some lifelong connections. Good luck to him.” -via New York Post / July 15, 2024