Lakers Player Undergoes Offseason Surgery to Address Troublesome Issue

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Ashish Mathur | Last updated Jun 12, 2025 4:23 PM ET

The Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs despite having LeBron James and Luka Doncic and home-court advantage in the best-of-seven series.

The Lakers lost Games 1, 3, 4 and 5 against the Timberwolves.

This is a big offseason for Los Angeles president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka. He will be tasked to acquire a center and sign Doncic and Austin Reaves to extensions.

James has a player option to return to the Lakers next season. He's widely expected to pick up the option and play in his 23rd NBA campaign.

Pelinka made two trades this season. He acquired Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton from the Brooklyn Nets and Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks.

Finney-Smith has until June 29 to opt out of the final year of his contract worth $15.4 million for next season. The forward is extension-eligible before free agency begins on June 30.

Speaking of Finney-Smith, the swingman underwent surgery on his left ankle and is expected to be able to participate in training camp ahead of the 2025-26 NBA season, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

Finney-Smith appeared in 43 games with the Lakers. He averaged 7.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting 44.2% from the field, 39.8% from beyond the arc and 71.4% from the free-throw line.

The Lakers went 29-14 when Finney-Smith played.

"Finney-Smith was a valuable 3-and-D contributor for a Lakers team that finished 11th in team offensive rating and 17th in team defensive rating last season," McMenamin wrote. "He was also a popular locker room presence and a trusted confidant of Doncic."

Finney-Smith has played for the Mavericks, Nets and Lakers. He has career averages of 8.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 591 NBA games.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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