One of the Los Angeles Lakers‘ priorities this summer is to retain Dorian Finney-Smith, who has a $15.4 million player option for next season.

John Hollinger of The Athletic suggested a pathway for the Lakers to keep Finney-Smith while avoiding dipping into the first apron to have more flexibility.

Hollinger called this trick the “decline-and-sign” pathway that should be up Lakers vice president and general manager Rob Pelinka’s sleeves this summer.

“The idea is that L.A. can get Finney-Smith to decline his player option for $15.4 million for 2025-26 in return for re-signing on a longer deal for less money. The risk of overpaying on the back end of the deal (Finney-Smith turns 32 this summer) is offset by managing the immediate tax situation by shaving a few million off his 2025-26 cap number,” Hollinger wrote.

DFS’ Real Value to Lakers

Lakers rookie coach JJ Redick has credited Finney-Smith for the team’s defensive turnaround.

“He’s brought a level of toughness,” Redick said, per Clutchpoints’ Erik Slater. “Certainly communication and the spirit to want to defend. I think guys have responded well to who he is as a player, a teammate, a person. He’s just fit right in. Our season kind of turned around, and the energy and spirit of our group turned around when we got him. He’s been huge for us.”

The Lakers are 25-14 since they acquired Finney-Smith and reserve guard Shake Milton from the Brooklyn Nets for D’Angelo Russell, seldom-used second-year forward Maxwell Lewis and three future second-round draft picks on Dec. 29 last year.

Their record with Finney-Smith in the lineup is 22-10. The Lakers jumped from 21st in defensive rating before his arrival to No. 1 for close to two months since Jan. 15 before cratering in the wake of the rash of injuries to their key players.

On top of Finney-Smith’s defensive presence, his closeness and chemistry with Luka Dončić is also of value to the Lakers, who are hoping to lock up the Slovenian star for the next decade to be their franchise star.

Motivation Behind ‘Decline-And-Sign’ Move

According to Hollinger, the motivation for the Lakers to go the “decline-and-sign” route to retain Finney-Smith is for them to “leave enough wiggle room under the first apron.”

Such a move will give the Lakers access to the non-taxpayer midlevel exception to sign or trade for a starting-caliber center this summer.

“It’s a tight squeeze right now, even if the Lakers decline Shake Milton’s $3 million nonguaranteed deal. They might even consider stretching Maxi Kleber’s $11 million to generate the necessary space, especially since they’re running out of draft picks to put into trades to incentivize a deal,” Hollinger wrote.

The former Memphis Grizzlies top executive also added that this “decline-and-sign” option also “exists for [LeBron] James as well.”

Just like last year, James could also take another paycut to help the Lakers get more wiggle room to retain Finney-Smith and add another significant player either from free agency or via trade.

No Hometown Discount?

The veteran forward has hinted that he will not be taking a discount.

“You see what just happened with Luka (Dončić)? Finney-Smith said in a recent interview with Hoopshype.

The shocking trade of Dončić put all NBA players on notice. Loyalty to the team doesn’t guarantee their future.

“So, you’ve got to make sure you take care of yourself first,” Finney-Smith quickly added. “We need to finish the season strong. If we win, everybody eats (smiles).”

The Lakers were only limited to offering Finney-Smith a maximum of three years, $56.4 million after they traded for him in December. They could offer him the full four-year deal in the offseason.