Good news, James and Doncic s key Lakers teammates have successfully undergone surgery

A valuable player of the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2024-25 season underwent surgery during the offseason to treat lingering injuries. Los Angeles Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith reportedly underwent surgery this week after several seasons fighting ankle injury.

Finney Smith, who was obtained from the Brooklyn Nets in the 2024-25 season, has undergone left ankle surgery but is expected to resume training before fall training camp. "The surgery at 32-year-old Finney Smith will allow him to play painlessly after healing an ankle injury he has been working hard to maintain over the past few seasons," wrote Dave McMenaming of ESPN. Finney Smith played for the Dallas Mavericks for most of the first seven years of his NBA career. As a undrafted free agent, Finney Smith signed with the Mavericks in 2016 and was eventually selected for the team's opening roster before becoming a surprise rotation player for Dallas. In his rookie season, Finney Smith averaged 20.3 minutes per game, and his playing time increased every year since then until the year he was traded.

In Dallas, Finney Smith fought side by side with team star Luca Doncic and established a deep friendship. Doncic was selected by the Mavericks in 2018. Doncic and Finney Smith (Doncic called him "Dodo") helped Dallas reach the Western Conference Finals in 2022. Finney Smith was later traded to the Brooklyn Nets as part of the Kyrie Irving trade in the 2022-23 season.

Fenney Smith is traded again after playing for the Brooklyn Nets for about two seasons; on December 29, 2024, the Lakers exchanged D'Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and some second-round draft picks for him and Sheik Milton. The change in the environment provides Finney Smith with the opportunity to compete for the championship. More than a month later, he teamed up with former Mavericks teammate Doncic, who was obtained by the Lakers through a controversial heavy trade before the trade deadline.

After Doncic joined, the Lakers ended the season with a strong record and finished third in the Western Conference. However, the team's overall size and lineup configuration has put a fatal hindering their playoff prospects. The Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Lakers in five games in the first round. Finney Smith averaged 34 minutes per game in the series and started one game.

If Finney Smith officially exercises the $15.4 million player option, he will enter the final year of his four-year $55.6 million contract in the 2025-26 season. Next summer, he will become an unrestricted free agent.