Brooklyn Nets: Who can replace Spencer Dinwiddie?
By Kristen Wong
2. Dorian Finney-Smith
Trading Dinwiddie to Dallas for a wing defender checks almost all of the boxes on the Nets’ how-to-prevent-last-season-from-happening-again list. Ever since Dorian Finney-Smith entered the NBA as an undrafted free agent, he has always maintained a defense-first approach to his game. Well, he’ll be the odd one out in Brooklyn. But that makes him that much more valued.
His shooting numbers have steadily improved year after year, currently at 47.2 percent from the field and 39.4 percent from beyond the arc. But it’s really his dogged Doe-Doe defense that makes him stand out.
On Dallas, he matched up against many of his opponent’s top scorers: Brandon Ingram, Jayson Tatum, Chris Paul, and Damian Lillard, to name a few. And Mavs fans will remember how he absolutely came in clutch in the final frame of Game 5 against the Clippers, nabbing three steals and posting one thunderous block.
From his undrafted free agent years to his starting minutes on a playoff-contending squad, Finney-Smith continues to impress when his team needs him most. Brooklyn badly needs a 3-and-D like him, and as for Dallas, they might have found a star complement to Luka Doncic in Dinwiddie. The Mavs have plenty of cap space, and they wouldn’t let Doe-Doe go without receiving a scorer of Dinwiddie’s (pre-injury) caliber. Dorian Finney-Smith was born to play with stars, and he just might have a shot this offseason.