Grade the Trade: Thunder land veteran power forward in new win-now proposal
By Mark Nilon
Grading the Trade: Should the Thunder say yes?
Dorian Finney-Smith is a baller who has been around the block and has proven capable of contributing in major ways on win-now ball clubs.
The 31-year-old has seen numerous playoff runs throughout his eight seasons in the association, with one of his latest appearances going as far as the Western Conference Finals in 2022.
At 6-foot-7, 220 pounds DFS is a prototypical, modern-day four who has made a career for himself being a highly physical and rather reliable 3-and-D rotation player who has proven to be more than comfortable taking on a wide range of defensive assignments thanks to his length (6-foot-11 wingspan), strength, and lateral quickness.
Over the last five years, the veteran has found himself posting impressive two-way averages of 9.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists on 37.1 percent shooting from distance while sporting a sound defensive rating of 114.
Described by Kline as "gravy for a deep, dynamic OKC lineup" due to his remarkable versatility, the idea of adding the established Finney-Smith to this promising, albeit still rather green Thunder team to boost their already menacing attack on both ends of the floor and bolster their lacking power forward depth seems too good to pass on.
An exchange of two players in Ousmane Dieng and Dillon Jones who certainly will see minimal time on the varsity squad and are likely to find the majority of their on-court action coming in the G League for a proven, win-now talent in Dorian Finney-Smith would be a dream scenario for Oklahoma City.