There’s no real off-season until the Lakers start stirring the pot. With LeBron James (basically) locked in, Rob Pelinka’s got the rest of the squad under the microscope. He said he wouldn’t mess around—and for once, he meant it. But just when the Austin Reaves drama cooled off, another fire started: Dorian Finney-Smith. His future? Totally up in the air. Now, he’s made it clear—he wants out. The real kicker, though? It’s why he wants out. And once you hear the reason… yeah, good luck unhearing it.
According to Dan Woike of The Athletic, folks inside the Lakers camp are already bracing for Dorian Finney-Smith’s exit. The forward declined his player option, making himself a free agent, and pretty much confirming what everyone suspected. Where’s he headed? All signs point to Houston. Woike’s report lines up with what Marc Stein and Jake Fischer have been saying: the Rockets want him, and they’re not exactly being subtle about it. But again, why would the forward even want out in the first place? Turns out that Pelinka had the biggest hand to play in that.
“The word out there is that Rob Pelinka was going out there and talking to teams about Dorian’s knee to try to tank Dorian’s free agency value, and the offers that could potentially come in on him. Word is that got back to Dorian and his camp. And now you have a situation here where even if the Lakers came in with an offer above what the Houston Rockets are prepared to offer; I think I saw something in the ballpark of four years at the full mid-level exception for Dorian, whenever he goes to Houston, this is a tough look,” said Anthony Irwin.
Apparently Rob was going around to other teams talking about how DFS’ knee is cooked to tank his value and it got back to him lol
HORRIBLE look considering he’s besties with Luka
(via @AnthonyIrwinLA) https://t.co/wWaQLL1Hed pic.twitter.com/erIYzWvAKy
— 𝙉𝘼𝙅 (@najeeadams_) June 30, 2025
This is a developing story…
The post Rob Pelinka Allegedly Behind Dorian Finney-Smith’s Lakers Departure as LeBron James’ True Intentions Revealed appeared first on EssentiallySports.
