A new report indicates that the Miami Heat are interested in acquiring Dallas Mavericks forward Dorian Finney-Smith before next Thursday’s trade deadline.
Greg Sylvander, who appears on the “Five on the Floor” podcast, noted the possibility of a deal that would involve sending Finney-Smith to the Heat.
The Mavericks are likely just one of multiple teams the Heat are speaking with as the Feb. 9 trade deadline draws near.
Finney-Smith signed a four-year contract extension worth $55.5 million last year. This season, he’s making $12.4 million, with increases in each of the next three years. The last year on the deal holds a player option.
Now in his seventh NBA season, all of them with the Mavericks, Finney-Smith doesn’t deliver big numbers that grab the attention of fans. However, it’s clear that teams see the value he brings to the Mavericks.
For the 2022-23 campaign, Finney-Smith is averaging 8.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and just under one steal per game. As a long-range shooter, he’s connected on 35.9 percent of his 3-pointers over the course of his career and has a 34.6 percent success rate this season from deep.
Since the start of last year, Finney-Smith’s name has been mentioned in possible deals. Prior to last season’s trade deadline, the Mavericks reportedly rejected the idea of giving up Finney-Smith in exchange for a late lottery pick.
If the Heat were to acquire Finney-Smith, it would come with a certain amount of irony. That’s because last year, he bluntly dismissed the idea of loading up with superstars.
“The bunch-of-stars s— don’t even work anymore,” Finney-Smith told ESPN. “Fit matters.”
Back in 2010, the Heat built a superteam when they added free agents LeBron James and Chris Bosh. Whatever backlash the Heat received was no doubt worth it, since the addition of James and Bosh led to four straight seasons of Eastern Conference championships and NBA titles in 2012 and 2013.
Adding Finney-Smith likely wouldn’t have the same type of impact, but it would certainly enhance the Heat’s lineup as they try to start building momentum.
Currently with the sixth-best record in the Eastern Conference, the Heat will try to improve on that, beginning with a Thursday night road matchup against the New York Knicks.
