Dorian Finney-Smith’s path back to the Lakers looks blocked before it even starts.
After a rough 2025-26 season with the Houston Rockets, where injuries limited him to 37 games and his production fell off sharply, Finney-Smith was sent to the Charlotte Hornets on July 6 as Houston looked to move his salary. Charlotte has already signaled it will likely waive him, which naturally set off speculation about a possible Lakers reunion.
But that chatter was quickly cooled by NBA reporter Jovan Buhas on a recent episode of his podcast.
“I think the ship has sailed with DFS and the Lakers organization,” Buhas said. “I think there was some real bad blood last summer, with how the entire situation was handled, in terms of some of the intel that leaked out, and some things with DFS’s health and injury track record.
“I will be pretty surprised if he and his team are willing to look past that.”
The Lakers’ interest makes sense on paper. Finney-Smith was a useful piece in Los Angeles during the 2024-25 season, putting up 7.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists while shooting 44.2% from the field and 39.8% from deep. His perimeter defense also filled a real need for the Lakers, who finished 50-32.
That season ended with a first-round playoff loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games, and the front office came away knowing the roster needed a reset.
The split between Finney-Smith and the Lakers started in the offseason, when he declined his $15.4 million player option and entered free agency. He believed the Lakers would meet his asking price of a four-year, $53 million deal. They didn’t.
Instead, Los Angeles put forward a two-year, $25 million offer, which Finney-Smith viewed as a lowball. He took the same four-year, $53 million contract from Houston, a move that left the Lakers thinner on the perimeter.
Now the Rockets’ decision looks questionable in hindsight, and Finney-Smith is expected to draw interest if he becomes available again. The Lakers could be among the teams that check in, especially after losing several core players this offseason.
Still, a reunion appears unlikely. The one path that could bring him back would be a chance to play with Luka Doncic, his former teammate and friend. Even then, the sense around this situation is clear: don’t bet on Finney-Smith returning to Los Angeles.
In Other News...
Rockets Just Sent A Strong Message About Bruce Thornton
Bruce Thorntons path to Houston has moved from draft-night asset to signed rookie, with the Rockets using the second-round pick exception to lock in the former Ohio State standout on a four-year NBA contract. It is another small but meaningful sign that the team values the guard it acquired in a draft-day trade with the Knicks, a move that helped Houston climb into position to bring him aboard.
The structure of the deal leaves room for the Rockets to keep Thornton on a development track while preserving flexibility, and his next stop will be Summer League in Las Vegas. For a player who arrived with a strong college rsum and a reputation for production, the real question now is how quickly he can turn that momentum into a role worth protecting in a crowded Houston backcourt. [Read more 🡒]
Rafael Stone Has One Rockets Habit Fans Cant Keep Ignoring
Rafael Stone has built a reputation in Houston for being aggressive when it comes to the margins of roster building, and that includes a habit Rockets fans have noticed for a while now: second-round picks rarely seem to stay in his pocket for long. The front office has had real success finding value in the middle of the first round, with Tari Eason and Alperen Sengun standing out as the kind of selections that help shape a teams future, but the second round has not produced nearly the same kind of payoff.
The latest move only sharpened the conversation, because it fit a pattern Stone has followed before, using that part of the draft as currency in deals that clear roster space or help with bigger cap-picture goals. He has earned credit for contract work and other smart parts of his tenure, but until Houston turns one of those second-round swings into a real contributor, the questions around that habit are not going away anytime soon. [Read more 🡒]