Even before Luka Doncic came to the Los Angeles Lakers in that stunning Feb. 1 trade, they were starting to turn their season around. The seeds for that turnaround were planted when they shipped off struggling and maligned guard D'Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets for forward Dorian Finney-Smith in late December.
Finney-Smith gave the Lakers the type of 3-and-D wing they had lacked for the past few years. He has brought defensive versatility, not to mention grit, toughness and 3-point shooting, and he helped the team transform its identity.
He is the classic role player whose impact goes beyond his stats, or at least his basic stats.