Finch's retirement from the 50-over format on Saturday has again put leadership back on the agenda, with Cricket Australia on the search for another permanent captain before next year's one-day World Cup.
Officials opted to hand back some leadership responsibilities to Smith last summer, when they announced him as Pat Cummins' deputy for the Test team.
But right from that moment it was clear another long-term captaincy call was only just around the corner.
In the very press conference where his appointment was announced, Cummins made clear he had no interest in leading Australia's white-ball teams along with the Test side.
Australia have also operated without a vice-captain in one-day cricket for some time, with no real obvious successor to Finch in the long term.
Alex Carey has at times loomed as the closest thing to it, standing in for Finch when he was injured last year with Smith also being rested from that tour.
Awarding Carey the captaincy would signal a move for the future, but the fact he is not part of the T20 team means Australia will eventually need three separate captains when Finch eventually retires from that format.
Mitch Marsh could also loom as another option as a constant across both white-ball teams, with selectors having two months before Australia's next ODI.
Finch, however, could not see why the 2018 ball-tampering scandal should stand in Smith's way if he wanted to return to the captaincy and was best fit.
"I don't think (it would be an issue)," Finch said.
"He captained a Test match in Adelaide after Pat was out with COVID.
"So I think that's all been put to bed."
Finch also believed Smith had several years ahead of him with the right-hander aged 33 and one of 11 players in their 30s in Australia's current ODI squad.
Australia's ODI captain before the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, Smith immediately played a tactical role in setting fields on his return to the team the next year.
Finch said if any player could juggle the captaincy of all three formats at once it was Cummins.
However a big issue would likely be Cummins' availability as he was rested from 28 of 65 matches in the past four years.
"It's pretty hard but I think if anyone can manage it it'd be Pat," Finch said.
"He is an unbelievably resilient person. He has shown brilliant leadership of the Test group and I've loved working with him.
"He takes everything in his stride. He's got all the tools to do that."
