Finney-Smith undergoes left ankle surgery! The Lakers' contract renewal plan is released: a maximum of 4 years and 96.5 million

On June 13, Beijing time, Lakers forward Finney Smith has undergone left ankle surgery and is expected to recover and participate in training before the start of NBA training camp in the 2025-26 season. The surgery was designed to address an old ankle injury he had had over the past few seasons. By cleaning up the lesions, the 32-year-old Finney-Smith is hopefully free of pain in future matches.

After Finney-Smith was traded by the Nets to the Lakers, he missed eight games due to "left ankle injury management." During his time with the Nets, he missed 12 games due to left calf discomfort caused by a left ankle problem.

Despite injury, he was a key figure in the Lakers' third-seed seed in the West and their first 50-win season since 2019-20. On December 29 of last year, the Lakers acquired him and Milton in a trade for Russell, Lewis, and three second-round picks. Since then, the Lakers have a 29-14 record in the 43 regular-season games Finney-Smith has played in (14-6 in the 20 games he started).

In the playoffs, Lakers coach Redick made changes to his starting lineup in Game 4 of the first round against the Timberwolves: Finney-Smith replaced Hayes at the beginning of the third quarter, and he played the full second half despite the team's 113-116 loss. Redick continued to start him in Game 5, the series tiebreaker, which the Lakers lost 96-103.

As a 3-and-D player, Finney-Smith has significant value to the Lakers. Last season, the Lakers ranked 11th in the league in offensive efficiency and 17th in defensive efficiency. He's also an important player in the locker room and a trusted partner for Doncic, who started their careers with the Mavericks and are teammates again.

The nine-year NBA veteran averaged 7.9 points (44.2 percent shooting from the field and 39.8 percent from three-point range), 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game for the Lakers last season.

Finney-Smith has until June 30 to decide whether to opt out of his $15.4 million contract for next season. He is eligible to sign a contract extension with the Lakers before the free agent market opens on July 1.

According to ESPN's salary expert Marks, from the day after the NBA Finals to June 29, the Lakers can offer him a three-year, $54 million contract extension;

From June 30 to July 1, the Lakers are offering a four-year, $90.2 million contract (the original player option will be replaced by a new salary);

If he chooses to exercise his player option, the Lakers could sign him to a four-year, $96.5 million contract after the free agent freeze ends on July 7.