Newest rumor reveals Mavericks nearly stole the Lakers’ coveted top trade target

NBA trade season is one of the most entertaining times of the year as teams from around the league make pivotal moves to bolster their roster in hopes of rising in the standings to be in a good position to make a playoff push, and the Los Angeles Lakers started trade season with a bang.

Los Angeles traded D'Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis, and three second-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton, and the former Dallas Mavericks fan-favorite wing now has the chance to be on a winning team and contend for a championship once again with LeBron James by his side. It was clear that Finney-Smith was near the top of the Lakers' list when it came to who they wanted to trade for considering how early they made this move, and they got their guy.

Finney-Smith was dangled in trade talks for nearly his entire stint with the Nets, and these trade talks will be put to bed (at least for now) with him joining the Lakers. Mavericks fans in particular really wanted the team to trade for Finney-Smith to address their backup power forward spot, and recently an NBA insider revealed the truth about how Dallas felt about him this season amid the nonstop rumors of where he could end up.

Mavericks showed interest in a trade for Finney-Smith

According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Mavericks "kept tabs" on Finney-Smith before he was traded to the Lakers. This is the first report that confirms Dallas was in the hunt for Finney-Smith this season, and the Mavs will now have to shift their focus elsewhere when searching for frontcourt depth.

This has now been two seasons in a row that Dallas has shown interest in Finney-Smith ahead of the trade deadline, and the love for him within the organization is clearly still there. Ever since the Mavs traded Finney-Smith to the Nets as part of the Kyrie Irving trade, fans have wanted him back in Dallas.

His 3-point shooting, strong defense, and tenacity made him one of the most beloved Mavericks of the Luka Doncic era, and he played a major role in helping Dallas reach the Western Conference Finals in 2022. That was Dallas' first conference finals appearance since 2011, and it helped mark a new era of Mavs basketball.

Seeing Finney-Smith go to the Lakers was a tough pill to swallow for many Mavs fans who wanted him back in the 214, and the rumor that Dallas was interested in him once again this season makes it even harder for those fans. It's unclear how aggressively the Mavs pursued Finney-Smith, but getting beat out by the Lakers isn't something that fans will want to hear. Finney-Smith was seemingly always drawing trade interest from around the league during his time with the Nets, and him coming back to the Western Conference just made things harder on the Mavs.

Regardless though, the Mavericks remain focused on finding a trade that brings them frontcourt depth, even with Finney-Smith off the board. It's a possibility that Dallas held off trading for Finney-Smith to pursue someone younger who fits their timeline better, and the clock is ticking for Nico Harrison and company since Dallas has lost four of their last five games. On top of their losing spell, the Mavs were also dealt awful news after P.J. Washington went down with a knee sprain on Wednesday night against the Houston Rockets, and the injuries just keep coming for this Mavericks team.

Finney-Smith would have been the perfect backup for Washington, and a trade for him could have been the move Dallas needed to gear up for another deep playoff run. He is shooting a career-high 42.7 percent from downtown, and adding him to the second unit alongside Quentin Grimes and Naji Marshall would have created nightmares for other teams around the NBA. All three of those players are great perimeter defenders, and these rumors of the Mavs showing interest in him just threw salt in the wounds of Mavs fans who dreamed of a Finney-Smith reunion.

Dallas' first matchup of the season against Finney-Smith and the Lakers is next Tuesday night, and with how tough the schedule is about to get, the Mavericks may be wishing they made a move for Finney-Smith rather than Los Angeles.