Dorian Finney-Smith determined to have disrespect of Nets fuel culture after trade rumors

As soon as the Nets traded Mikal Bridges, conventional wisdom was Dorian Finney-Smith wouldn’t be far behind.But rumor mill aside, Finney-Smith — along with fellow veterans Cam Johnson and Dennis Schroder — is back in Brooklyn for training camp.The trio of vets are helping new coach Jordi Fernandez try to build some sort of a healthy culture, and exceed expectations that they feel are, frankly, insultingly low.“Me, Dennis Schroder, we were talking and we just want everybody to know that we ain’t deferring to just tank or whatever,” Finney-Smith said Wednesday.

“They’re saying we’re going to win 17 games.I feel like this team should take that as disrespect, and use it as motivation.“People don’t know how healthy Ben [Simmons] is going to be.

But we’ve been seeing him for the last four weeks and he looks great.So, if bro gets back on the court I feel like it’s gonna help our team a lot, and we’re going to shake the NBA.”Shaking the NBA might be a tall order, especially after dealing away Bridges off last year’s 32-50 team.

And the oddsmakers have the Nets going backwards, from a league-low projected 19.5 wins to now 18.5 on FanDuel.The Nets are using them as motivation — even if Finney-Smith acknowledged he hasn’t actually read them himself, because he’s weaning himself off social media.“Well, actually I ain’t seen it.It’s just what I’ve been hearing,” Finney-Smith admitted.

“I can’t be on social media a lot because I’m trying to get my kids to get off social media, so I’m trying to lead by example.I really didn’t see it, so I’m just going by what the guys in the locker room are saying.”The Nets rejected an offer of two first-round picks for Finney-Smith in 2023, but their pivot to a rebuild is why moving veterans seems logical.

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