Dorian Finney-Smith is going to have a great Christmas this year. His father, Elbert, has finally been released from prison after nearly 30 years. The Brooklyn Nets forward shared his story with his former team’s Chief of Staff, Jason Lutin, three years ago. From there, it was the Mavericks organization that took point in realizing their ex-player’s wishes.

Finally, they succeeded in doing the same and DFS has his father at home for Christmas after an insanely long separation. His current coach, Jacque Vaughn, and the Nets team have been incredibly supportive of Finney-Smith during these days.

Coach Vaughn moved by the situation of Dorian Finney-Smith

Talking of the same, Vaughn said, “We were very supportive of Doe flying back and being there for that special day.” When you don’t have too many pressures off the court, the result can be seen in your game. Just yesterday, Gil’s Arena crew was talking about compartmentalizing off-court issues. This can very well be considered one of those.

From that perspective, what Vaughn said about trying to “hone in on the things that make life simple and uncomplicated” suddenly makes a lot more sense. It surely makes a world of difference. Losing your father at a crucial stage in life is hard. In Dorian’s case, it must have been even harder, knowing that his father was nearby and yet so far.

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We can only imagine the kind of childhood taunts and trauma he had to endure. But, now that he’s in a position to bring his family together as a whole, he did exactly that. And Mark Cuban and Dallas have had a huge role in it.

Mark Cuban and co.’s role in Dorian’s father’s case

As mentioned above, Cuban played a key role in the release of Elbert. Going back to when he was just a 23-year-old hot-blooded young man, DFS’s father and Diefen McGann were debt collectors. Arriving at an auto repair shop in Virginia Beach that Willie Anderson II, the victim, owned, the three had gotten into a fight.

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It ended up with Anderson dying as a result of the gunshot wounds and the pair of them locked up, charged with first-degree murder. Subsequently, McGann accepted a plea deal and was awarded a five-year prison sentence. Offered the same deal, Smith Sr.’s attorney advised to go to trial since it was McGann who fired the shots that killed Anderson. Unfortunately, they added two more charges and sentenced him to 44 years in prison.

This was the backstory that Lutin and former Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore had to work with. He accepted the case pro bono. Along with Finney-Smith, Mavs GM, Nico Harrison was present for the hearing on January 25th. Mark Cuban’s testimony on DFS’s character helped the case go a long way.

We all know what happened next. We wish Dorian Finney-Smith and his family an amazing Christmas!

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