Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle indicated on Tuesday that fourth-year forward Dorian Finney-Smith could play power forward and/or center this 2019-20 season.
As Carlisle noted, Finney-Smith could move into the four or five spot when the Mavs use a smaller lineup, per Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News.
“He’s shown he can guard really virtually any position on the floor, including centers,” Carlisle said. “He guarded some really good players last year pretty effectively … so hey, in Year 4, I look for him to take another step.”
The 6-foot-8 Finney-Smith has spent his entire three-year professional career with the Mavs after going undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft out of Florida. Last season, Finney-Smith spent 68 percent of his minutes at small forward and 30 percent at power forward. However, the prior year, the Virginia native slightly edged out his small forward role, playing 51 percent of his 2017-18 season's minutes at the four.
The Mavs are looking to be “fluid” at positions, per Caplan, and that could go a long way. Dallas could maximize their players on the hardwood by playing multiple positions.
The 2019 Rookie of the Year Luka Doncic, for example, could in theory move around from the point guard to small forward spot. Meanwhile, All-Star big man Kristaps Porzingis, at 7-foot-3, could see minutes more at power forward.
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