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In news that is only somewhat surprising, Florida's Dorian Finney-Smith went undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft, passed on by 29 teams — but not the New York Knicks, who thought that acquiring Derrick Rose and his semi-functional knees was more important than having a pick in this year's draft.
Finney-Smith averaged 14.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game as a senior for the Gators, and posted a strong Offensive Rating of 113.7 despite his three-point shooting dropping from 42.6 percent as a junior to 36.8 percent in 2015-16. Renowned for his versatility and a lanky 6'8" frame, Finney-Smith was seen by some as a potential second-round pick, and projected as such by DraftExpress in its final 2016 NBA Draft mock.
One thing working against Doe-Doe, though, was his age. At 23, he's older than virtually every drafted player was, and his five years in college — one with Virginia Tech, then four at Florida, including a redshirt season after transferring in 2012 — showed only steady improvement, not the sort of explosive advancement that would make NBA scouts believe he could be a late bloomer.
Still, Finney-Smith will undoubtedly play professional basketball somewhere, and it might yet be the NBA. DraftExpress' Mike Schmitz predicted he would make a team late Thursday night.
Player that didn't get drafted who I think makes an NBA team: Dorian Finney-Smith. Combo forward with size and length. Potential role guy.
— Mike Schmitz (@Mike_Schmitz) June 24, 2016
The Gainesville Sun's Graham Hall noted Friday morning that the Toronto Raptors and New Orleans Pelicans have interest in Finney-Smith. Finney-Smith worked out twice for the Raptors, with his second visit up north happening just last Sunday.