Lakers' Finney-Smith deal quietly signifies Mavericks' true intentions in a trade

After going 14-3 throughout a 17-game stretch to reconcile their season, the Dallas Mavericks have lost three out of four games and are experiencing vacancies in their lineup left and right. The most crushing blow that has been dealt to the Mavericks recently has been Luka Doncic suffering a left calf strain on Christmas day, as Doncic will miss over a month with an injury that has plagued him before.

Without Doncic in the lineup, Dallas is being forced to find offensive creation from many more of their role players, though they've really been stretched thin from a shot creation perspective with Naji Marshall missing time due to suspension, as Marshall's in-between game and finishing ability has been an extremely underrated component of Dallas' offense.

Dallas' offense has been far less dynamic since Doncic exited the game on Christmas, as the Mavericks could desperately use another player who can put the ball on the floor in the back half of their rotation. Dallas does have a solid amount of creators in their lineup when they are at full strength, so whatever player they could add in a prospective trade will also need to be a solid defender if they want to be in the rotation consistently.

Mavericks may target a younger wing to align with their core timeline

It's been no secret that Dallas' most needed position is a wing that can play the three and four, and the Mavericks had the perfect opportunity to trade for former fan favorite Dorian Finney-Smith to fill this void until Finney-Smith was recently shipped to the Los Angeles Lakers in a deal. However, this move potentially signified what Dallas' front office truly desires in a trade for a wing, as Finney-Smith would've been a tremendous fit off the bench in Dallas and the Mavericks could've manufactured the ammo to trade for him.

One explanation for why Dallas passed up on this seemingly perfect opportunity is that they could have wanted to acquire a young player of a similar archetype that could fit their timeline better. There are plenty of names across the league the Mavericks could look to that could fill their backup wing slot, but whoever they target needs to be a versatile defender that can shoot the 3-ball at a solid clip, and sprinkle in some elements of offensive creation if need be.

With Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford's inconsistencies of recent, the Mavericks could look to target more of a bigger-bodied wing that could act as a small-ball five on occasion as well. Perhaps New Orleans Pelicans forward Herb Jones or Indiana Pacers forward Obi Toppin are younger names that the Mavericks could look to trade for, and they'd also be able to play multiple positions off the bench if they were shipped to the Mavericks in a trade.

With the trio of Doncic, Lively II, and P.J. Washington all being 26 years old or under and being projected to stay in Dallas for hopefully a long time, ensuring that any wing the Mavericks trade for fits their future timeline is definitely the front office's preference, and the incoming younger player in a potential trade would also likely still be able to develop further in Dallas like Washington has for instance.