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LOS ANGELES – When Dorian Finney-Smith opted to leave the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency, the team suddenly found themselves with more at their disposal in terms of free agency money. At the onset of the free agency negotiation period, the Lakers quickly came to terms with Jake LaRavia, one of the more intriguing wing options on the market.
With the free agency moratorium period over, the Lakers were officially able to complete the Jake LaRavia signing. During an introductory press conference with media on Tuesday, LaRavia spoke about his playmaking ability and how that can help the team this upcoming season.
“Yeah, just being that connector type player. Obviously I’m playing with guys like Luka [Doncic] and LeBron [James] who kind of have the same role,” LaRavia said. “But last year I was able to get into the paint pretty easily and draw different defenders, and then just being able to kick the ball out, make easy reads and make the easy play. I consider myself a high IQ type player, just being able to make the easy pass and getting the pall there.”
During the first half of last season, before LaRavia was traded to the Sacramento Kings, he averaged 2.8 assists per game with the Memphis Grizzlies. That was an NBA career-high. During his final year in college in 2021-22 at Wake Forest, he averaged 3.7 assists, a college career-best.
As a potential Finney-Smith replacement in the lineup, LaRavia’s skill-set is a bit different in that he’s a little more able to put the ball on the floor and make plays/reads. His size enables him to play as a big guard in certain lineups. Where he’s similar to Finney-Smith is he’s shown the ability to be a good 3&D player with his shooting and defensive versatility.
“I’m pretty versatile on both sides of the ball, being able to space the floor, play off guys like LeBron, Luka and Austin [Reaves],” LaRavia said. “And then defensively, just being able to take on that toughest matchup is something that I’ve been growing on as my years have gone on. But I think I’ll fit right in as the kind of 3&D connector type player on this team.”
This past season, LaRavia shot 42.3 percent from three-point range in 66 games between the Grizzlies and Kings. He’s a career 37.1 percent shooter from three. And in terms of defensive ability, he was in the top half in defensive rating on the Kings despite only suiting up in 19 games, as per StatMuse.
LaRavia will most likely come off the bench for the Lakers in the 2025-26 season, and he has the opportunity to be an impactful player on a winning team.
