Dorian Finney-Smith Ankle Surgery: All Details About Lakers Star’s Injury & Recovery Timeline

The Los Angeles Lakers are staring down a huge offseason for them. The 2025-26 season will be Luka Doncic’s first full season as a Laker. But it could also be LeBron’s last. So, everyone from their front office to their bench players is doing their best to prepare. And for forward Dorian Finney-Smith, that means addressing an issue that’s been bothering him for years now. But as he does that, he will soon need to make a decision about his future with the Purple and Gold.

Dorian Finney-Smith joined the Lakers as part of the trade that sent D’Angelo Russell and Maxwell Lewis to the Brooklyn Nets. Since arriving in LA, Dorian averaged 7.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists. However, he’s been compromised the whole time. And now, his number may see a bump up because of his recent decision to get surgery for a lingering ankle injury. This news was brought to us by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

Dorian Finney-Smith has struggled with this particular injury for a few seasons at this point. The whole time, he’d been playing through discomfort for both the Nets and the Lakers. But now, after successfully addressing the issue through surgery, Doe-Doe looks forward to coming back at 100%. And his return might come sooner than you think.

 

New story: Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith underwent successful surgery to address a lingering left ankle injury and is expected to be able to participate in training camp, sources told ESPN https://t.co/S6BZAmcj3F

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) June 12, 2025

David McMenamin reports that Dorian should be healthy by the time Lakers’ training camp for the 2025-26 season in late September rolls out. That means Dorian should be healthy enough to play in the Lakers’ preseason home games against Phoenix on October 3 and, more exciting, the Golden State Warriors on October 12!

But all this circles back to that decision we talked about earlier. See, Dorian Finney-Smith may be healthy by the end of September. But will he be a Laker?

Dorian Finney-Smith needs to make a call on his future by June 29

The nine-year NBA veteran has a decision to make this summer. He has until June 29 to decide whether he wants to opt out of his contract’s final year, which guarantees a cool $15,378,480. But, he is eligible for an extension before his free agency begins on June 30.

See, Finney-Smith and his “3 and D” contributions were really important for the Lakers last season after his arrival in the winter. He helped the Lakers finish as the 3rd seed while ranking 11th in offensive rating. Moreover, Doe-Doe, being a former teammate of Luka Doncic, helped with his transition after the Slovenian’s arrival in February.

Feb 1, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby (8) drives to the basket against Los Angeles Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith (17) during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

So, he can leverage this value to get a better deal from the Lakers. ESPN’s Bobby Marks revealed that from the first day after the NBA Finals end until June 28, the Los Angeles Lakers have the option of offering Doe-Doe a three-year, $54 million extension. But from June 29-30, this offer can go up to a whopping $90.2 million deal that lasts for 4 years. That’s a pretty tight window for such a huge decision!

It doesn’t end there, though. If Dorian Finney-Smith opts in, the max contract he could sign will be even bigger — $96.5 million for 4 years. But he’ll need to sign a week after June 29 on July 6, once the moratorium is over. Told you he had a big decision to make!

But not having to worry about his ankle anymore will probably make it much easier to decide for Doe-Doe. After all, he probably won’t want to pass up the opportunity to play with LeBron James and Luka Doncic!

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