Mavs forward uses draft snub as fuel
Draft day came and went this past summer without any of the 30 NBA teams drafting Dorian Finney-Smith.
That came as a surprise to Finney-Smith. And to the Dallas Mavericks.
The Mavericks had Finney-Smith high on their draft board. But they only had a second-round pick in the entire draft and decided to use it to select Purdue center A.J. Hammons.
But the Mavericks came back and signed Finney-Smith to a free-agent contract. Not getting drafted remains a sore spot for Finney-Smith, a 6-foot-8, 215-pound small forward from Florida.
“It happened,” Finney-Smith said. “You can’t get it back, but you just try to use it as fuel. You see guys who got drafted, you’re happy for them. But also you feel like you belong, and I’m just trying to prove that I belong here.”
Finney-Smith had three points, four rebounds and a blocked shot in 20 minutes during Saturday’s preseason opener, a 116-102 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans in Bossier City, La.
It’s going to be pretty clear that he should have been in the draft somewhere.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle about Dorian Finney-Smith
The Mavericks brought in Finney-Smith for a workout before the draft. They were enamored with his overall skill set, but felt they just couldn’t pass on Hammons.
“It’s going to be pretty clear that he should have been in the draft somewhere,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said of Finney-Smith. “But look, the draft was deep. The talent pool is deep, and this year in particular, from the last of the first [round] to what would have been the third or fourth round, there are a lot of good prospects. There are going to be some undrafted guys that make the league and he’s got a chance to be one of them.”
Finney-Smith is one of seven players vying for the final two spots on the Mavericks’ 15-man roster. Forward Justin Anderson, the Mavs’ first-round draft pick last year, grew up playing AAU against Finney-Smith and is very aware of his talents.
“Everybody was like, ‘That boy is going to be special,’ ” Anderson said. “He was playing point guard at like 6-5, everybody knew how versatile he was, how he could play, how he could score, he could play defense.
“I remember back in the day we’d think about this moment. … We talked about, ‘Let’s go out here and play so we can one day go to the league.’ This is a unique experience, and I’m happy for how he’s taken advantage of it.”
Anderson played high school basketball in Rockville, Md., while Finney-Smith played in Portsmouth, Va. Their connection runs deep.
Carlisle is really intrigued with the intangibles Finney-Smith brings to the court.
“He’s a very solid player, he’s a young player that has a veteran-type disposition,” Carlisle said. “A terrific worker, multiple-position player. He’s tough, tough. Right now he’s going to have to make the NBA mostly as a three-and-D [defense] type guy, but he’s got the ability to improve in a lot of areas, too.”
Finney-Smith was the Southeastern Conference sixth man of the year in 2014, and second-team all-SEC the past two seasons. While he led Florida in scoring (14.7 points) and rebounds (8.3 boards) last season, he also was a prolific defender.
“I feel like I can guard multiple positions, and I can do it at a high level,” Finney-Smith said.
“He’s a better defender than most guys at this stage,” Carlisle said. “He just has a disposition and an NBA attitude that’s been impressive to this point.”
Dwain Price: 817-390-7760, @dwainprice
This story was originally published October 1, 2016 at 10:05 PM with the headline "Mavs forward uses draft snub as fuel."