Lakers Sign Jake LaRavia And Lose Dorian Finney-Smith On Day 1 Of NBA Free Agency

Lakers Sign Jake LaRavia And Lose Dorian Finney-Smith On Day 1 Of NBA Free Agency

all right NBA free agency is underway and the Lakers are somewhat active Harrison Graham Patrick Seatman here as it’s been a slow start to free agency overall but the Lakers have been involved in a couple of notable moves First they officially lose Dorian Finny Smith See as in the last 48 hours this was uh a growing concern for LA because he opted out of his $15.6 million player option It was heavily reported that the Rockets were willing to offer him a 4-year deal in the non-t taxpayer mid-level exception That has happened as he gets four years and 53 million from Houston So the Lakers and a good buddy Aluka Donic they lose a key role player Yeah I think this is a big loss for the Lakes Show Um DFS one of the better 3 and D guys in the NBA I think this is a great pickup for the Houston Rockets And I think Dorian Finn Smith probably wanted a longerterm deal Obviously you could have opted in for that 15 mil Got more you know money annually but he wanted that four-year contract Houston was willing to offer that to him I think that’s a solid contract for him Um you know got good size can defend on the perimeter good point of attack defender and plus when you have a superstar like Kevin Durant Aman Thompson you got to have spacing around those guys and that’s exactly what he will bring to Houston But you know also a huge loss for the Lakers Harry Like you need these guys around Luca and you lose one of the better ones in the NBA
Yeah I mean Luca can’t be happy with this I mean him and Finny Smith are very close Uh dating back to to their time in Dallas Uh they went to two conference finals together won NBA finals together Um he fits great with Luca because he’s a good catch andoot guy Uh he helps Luke on the defensive end too because of his defensive capability So this is a massive loss uh here in a few moments we’ll get to uh the player the Lakers sign but I don’t think that you’re off to a good start here if you’re Los Angeles I mean you got LeBron who’s opted in We’ll work him into the conversation as well you’ve traded for Luca and everybody gave Rob Blinka credit for winning that trade and I do think longterm he did but what is it what are they going to look like for 202526 because this was one of your key role players uh to help go on a playoff run and he’s out the door so I don’t know if the Lakers weren’t willing to pay him a multi-year deal on the mid-level like to me that’s a pretty easy contract to give a player of that caliber like you know what he brings to the table I
mean Luca 26 Like you want to start competing here relatively pretty soon like we all agree they won this trade but I mean are you just going to waste this next upcoming season with LeBron and Luca and you lose a guy like DFS i don’t really know what their plans are to fill out the rest of their team We’ll get to their recent signing here in a second but we ask you guys this How big of a loss is Dorian Finny Smith for the Los Angeles Lakers if I had to scale it one through 10 probably give it an eight or a nine I think this is pretty extreme This is like the perfect archetype of player you would want next to Luca Best buddies with him So I’ll go eight or nine What about you Harry
yeah I’d give it a pretty high uh rating as well Probably eight eight and a half because in a free agency market that’s all about players in this kind of money range with the mid level You could have just
given him the same deal and I imagine he would have stayed Now maybe it’ll come out that he wanted to come back to Texas and no state income tax Who knows but um I I do think that if they offered him this same type of deal he likely would have stayed And clearly they weren’t willing to do that Maybe that’s because of their pursuit for a center which you clearly need uh on this team especially in a Luca driven offense But uh do not downplay this loss I I think this is a significant one Now they do sign Jake Laoravia two years 12 million who got drafted by Memphis a few years ago got traded to Sacramento uh this past year and played pretty well for them uh kind of a you know preferably a power forward I don’t think he’s athletic enough to play three uh especially defensively for extended minutes but a guy who can space the floor sees finally started to shoot the ball uh pretty well last year 40% guy for the year north of 40% overall Uh so you get him on a relatively affordable deal I’m not sure exactly if this comes from uh the byanual or the full midlevel If it’s part of the full mid level then they still have about 8 million in that bucket to spend Whether it’s on a Brook Lopez a DeAndre Aton whatever the case may be I think Levia helps replace some of Finny Smith’s offensive production but not defensively He’s not a plus defender
A massive hit defensively Like are you going to run him next to LeBron Luca Austin Reeves i mean you got four negative defenders out there on the court especially at the you know time LeBron is in his NBA career And also is just a Maxi Clever clone Like very similar players Like
Cleba I in theory is a good defensive player At least he was
He’s got better size on him but like just being that like three four stretch the floor I just I like this move but there has to be more moves to come Like this can’t be all the Lakers do this off seasonason It’s like all right this is a group we’re rolling out with We’re going to try to compete in the West which the West has gotten significantly better already this offseason I mean where do the Lakers even rank right now in the Western Conference
yeah I mean they feel like u somewhere between like five at the best 10 at the worst I mean they’re probably a playing caliber team at this exact moment Now if they get a legitimate center that can play well with Luca could they become like a dominant offensive type of team but again I think defensively they’re probably going to struggle Uh you know LeBron at times can still defend but he can’t give you that every single night at his age Um you know Jake Loravia I do think playing with Luca he you will probably see an uptick in his volume and efficiency uh compared to the rest of his career uh from three-point range So I do think offensively his archetype fits fits well with Luke and I think at that price tag that’s a pretty fair deal as well 6 million per year Uh but I I would say so far that you’re at a net negative uh early on here losing Finny Smith and adding Jake Larabia So we know for a fact they’re going to get a center It’s a matter of which one they get Uh and uh we’ll see what happens there Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel We’ll talk a little LeBron on the back end here and just kind of explore his present and future here But we got you guys covered throughout NBA free agency If the Lakers make moves we’ll have it co covered whether it’s myself Seeps Jeffrey Cooperstein whoever’s available in the office we will bring you guys that news and reaction So do not miss out and appreciate the recent support on the videos as well Okay let’s talk LeBron See so he opts into the deal And then shortly after that
report comes out that he not sure if he trusts the direction of the roster and you know if he’s going to keep playing at this age he wants to have a chance to compete for a championship He’s not sure if the Lakers can provide that And listen they don’t have a ton of flexibility here He may not be wrong but it’s also like why opt in then
yeah Like you could easily like LeBron’s made more than enough money has that billion dollar deal from Nike Like if this is true just opt out of that resign for like a 2-year $30 million deal Give your team a ton more flexibility Uh I just think this was typical LeBron controlling the narrative I’m going to opt into that player option but also I need to see the Lakers and what they do this offseason and they got to get a better roster around you know myself Luca and Austin Reeves But you also have kind of handicapped them where you can’t make a lot of moves now Like you’re kind of now just sitting there hoping that DeAndre Aton or one of these centers will take that mid-level exception deal which is still a question mark but I I would not be or I would be shocked if he ends up getting traded I don’t think that’s on the table You know some people have tossed out a couple different trade ideas but I don’t know I just think this was uh there’s a typical LeBron move like you opt in then you get a statement out there that you you’re not happy with the roster Not really putting too much more into that
Bobby Marks does have the note that the first apron hard cap triggered 14 million below Now again this is what makes the NBA difficult for consumers because they have all these aprons What does that mean i assume if they’re 14 million below they can still sign someone up to that number before getting the second apron So could they still go get like a DeAndre Aton for like 10 million a year or something like that maybe Brook Lopez could be out there I mean
I don’t really know too
They’re not done I mean there’s no way this is what they’re trotting out there opening night uh this current roster uh with only the moves of LeBron opting in Jake Loravia and Jordan Goodwin So stay tuned More to come We’ll see what cap maneuvering that Rob Pelinka has in mind and who they’re going to keep an eye on as uh NBA free agency it rolls along And I do wonder if the Eightton emergence does that kind of stall the center market a little bit because we know the the Lakers are going to be intrigued uh with adding a center because we saw that uh Jackson Hayes is not going to cut it Uh especially in a Luca driven offense I mean you need to have an effective center There’s been Clint Capella Bug there’s guys out there So uh we’ll see uh where it ends up going but uh keep an eye on that center spot for LA And keep an eye on LeBron if new developments occur Uh we will have that covered as well Do you guys believe that LeBron will end his career in Los Angeles type Y for yes he will or type N for no he will not [Music]

Los Angeles Lakers breaking news: The Lakers are signing forward Jake LaRavia on a two year $12 million contract. LaRavia is the first signing on day one of NBA free agency for the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers also lost Dorian Finney-Smith to the Houston Rockets on day one of 2025 NBA free agency. How will the Jake LaRavia signing affect the Los Angeles Lakers heading into the 2025 NBA season? Find out on this episode of the Lakers Report by Chat Sports.

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Lakers 2025 free agency returning players:
– Luka Doncic (G)
– Rui Hachimura (F)
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– Gabe Vincent (G)
– Jarred Vanderbilt (G/F)
– Dalton Knecht (F)
– Shake Milton (G)
– Bronny James (G)

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MORE Los Angeles Lakers news & rumors:
– Lakers Rumors Before 2025 NBA Free Agency On LeBron James, Deandre Ayton & Dorian Finney-Smith https://youtu.be/dRWJnjtfwCE
– MAJOR Lakers Rumors On Austin Reaves, Dorian Finney-Smith + Andrew Wiggins Trade Rumors https://youtu.be/nEd1g6jTY3I
– Lakers UDFA Tracker: Lakers Sign RJ Davis, Eric Dixon & Arthur Kaluma After 2025 NBA Draft https://youtu.be/JvpO9kZ8pSM

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Shams Charania on Jake LaRavia signing with Lakers:
“Free agent forward Jake LaRavia has agreed to a two-year, $12 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, sources tell ESPN. LaRavia had a strong finish after joining the Sacramento Kings last season.”

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