Not inferior to Reeves! Finney-Smith wants to stay with the Lakers and list the top three targets for reinforcements inside

On May 24, Beijing time, according to Lakers reporter Khobi Price, 32-year-old forward Finney Smith wants to stay with the Lakers, but he has not yet decided whether to exercise the 15.4 million player option of his current contract. Finney-Smith and Doncic have a good relationship and are expected to continue playing for the Purple and Gold.

In a post-season interview, Finney-Smith called his half-season experience with the Lakers "fantastic." If Finney-Smith ends up staying, another team notekeeper, McMenamin, thinks he'll be a key member of the Lakers' roster next season and worth as much as Reaves.

"I think Finney-Smith will be a major contributor to the Lakers' new season," McMenamin said, "and he's not coming in good shape and needs time to get back to his rhythm." Now that he's more comfortable with the team and in better health, I think he'll be seen as the Lakers' third-best player, tied with Reaves. ”

Whether Finney-Smith stays with or not the Lakers need to bolster their interior in the offseason, and it was previously reported that the Lakers had asked the Hawks about center Okongu before the trade deadline.

Pincus delves into how the Lakers are filling the void this season. He pointed to Gafford as an ideal trade target, but wasn't sure if the Mavericks would be willing to make another deal with the Lakers so soon after completing Doncic's blockbuster trade. Pincus also mentioned the Raptors' Poeltl and the Magic's Bitadze as potential candidates, but acknowledged that the Raptors may be reluctant to let go of Poeltl, who is better suited to the bench than the starter.

In the regular season this season, Gafford played in 57 games, averaging 12.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, Poeltl played in 57 games and averaged 14.5 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game, and Bitadze played in 70 games averaging 7.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.