Nets receive harsh reality check on Dorian Finney-Smith

The Brooklyn Nets opted to stand relatively pat at this year's trade deadline, as they took part in smaller-scale deals rather than executing any splashy moves to either bolster their talent pool or draft asset collection.

Though they did finally manage to offload the likes of Spencer Dinwiddie in exchange for the more cost-efficient Dennis Schroder, many believe Sean Marks and company should have been more aggressive with their decision-making ahead of the February 8 cutoff, with Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley noting in a recent piece that Brooklyn likely regrets holding onto Dorian Finney-Smith

Trading Dorian Finney-Smith would have been 'more valuable' to Nets

Leading up to the deadline, reports had surfaced suggesting that the veteran had been drawing "significant interest" from rival teams on the trade market. Per Brian Lewis of the New York Post, the Nets even went as far as to reject an offer of two first-rounders for the forward.

Looking back on their course of action compared to the current state of the franchise, Buckley is a strong believer in the fact that Brooklyn should have parted ways with Finney-Smith when his stock was so high, for him serving as a trade asset would, in his eyes, have been more valuable to them than while serving as an on-court contributor.

"What was surprising (to put it politely), then, was Brooklyn's decision to keep Finney-Smith on its non-contending roster. The Nets apparently decided they couldn't live without a 30-year-old player, even though they're currently on a 6-18 skid that just cost coach Jacque Vaughn his job.

You could make the argument that had Finney-Smith been moved, he would've been the best player (certainly the top two-way contributor) dealt at the deadline. In that case, you have to think the Nets could've found at least a first-round pick for him and probably more. Given the state of this franchise, those draft assets should've been deemed more valuable than DFS."

- Zach Buckley

Now playing through his first full season in the borough, Finney Smith has proven to be rather effective as a core contributor, posting averages of 8.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists while shooting 37.5 percent from beyond the arc.

Of course, considering they don't have any picks in this upcoming draft and don't hold the rights to their own picks for the next several years, adding on more capital to this lowly-ranked, 21-34 squad would have been quite valuable as they head into a decisive 2024 offseason.

DFS is a good player who can contribute to winning basketball on successful ball clubs. The problem is, the Nets don't currently qualify as such a team, thus leading Buckley to bluntly state he would have been better used as a trade piece than a rotational contributor for them this year.