Tag: Spencer Dinwiddie

Former Lakers guard Spencer Dinwiddie is now joining the Mavericks

The Lakers have now lost a second rotation player from their 2023-24 roster in free agency.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ weak offseason continues.

Whether it has been in free agency or through a trade, they have added literally no outside players. Their only moves thus far have been to sign draft picks Dalton Knecht and Bronny James.

At the same time, they lost a key contributor when Taurean Prince, a very good 3-point shooter, decided to join the Milwaukee Bucks. Prince shot 39.6% from 3-point range this past season and helped Los Angeles finish eighth in 3-point shooting percentage.

On Monday, the team lost another player who could’ve helped it get better this coming season. Guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who joined the Lakers from the buyout market in February, has agreed to sign with the Dallas Mavericks.

Dinwiddie put up very disappointing numbers with the Lakers, as he often found himself a spectator on offense rather than someone who had the ball in his hands to create for himself or his teammates.

During a previous stint with the Mavs, the Southland native shot just over 40% from downtown and put up good overall numbers. He will now be a member of a team that has gone to the Western Conference Finals in two of the last three seasons.

Western Conference contender is interested in signing Spencer Dinwiddie

Spencer Dinwiddie, who played for the Lakers this past season, and a major power in the Western Conference are said to have mutual interest.

Many Los Angeles Lakers fans are very disappointed and even frustrated these days, as the team hasn’t brought in any outside players from other teams this offseason, either via free agency or trade.

Draft picks Dalton Knecht and Bronny James, particularly Knecht, could help the Lakers right away. But they still need another legitimate center and a 3-and-D wing, as well as an upgrade in terms of a ball-handling guard.

They have already lost forward Taurean Prince, who had a very good season for them by shooting 39.6% from 3-point range. Now, one of their few viable options as far as help at the point guard spot may be on the verge of leaving.

Spencer Dinwiddie, whom L.A. picked up from the buyout market in February, is rumored to be interested in joining the Dallas Mavericks, and the interest is reportedly mutual.

Via Marc Stein’s Substack:

“Dallas could elect to keep the spot open in the short-term, but league sources say that the Mavericks do hold an interest in re-signing Spencer Dinwiddie,” wrote Stein. “I’m likewise told that Dinwiddie has maintained property in the Dallas area since he was traded to Brooklyn in the Kyrie Irving deal in February 2023 and has interest in a return.

“Dinwiddie, who played his high school ball in the San Fernando Valley, chose to sign with his hometown Lakers over a return to the Mavericks last February after he was traded from Brooklyn to Toronto for Dennis Schröder and Thaddeus Young and then bought out.”

While Dinwiddie was a big disappointment during his short tenure with the Lakers, there is a feeling that then-head coach Darvin Ham misused him by not letting him run the offense or attack downhill with the basketball.

He has a history of low shooting percentages, but in parts of the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons with Dallas, he shot well from the field and just over 40% from 3-point range while playing alongside Luka Doncic. If he were to stay with the Purple and Gold, the hope is that having a strong offensive mind in JJ Redick as head coach could result in a major bump in his production.

Lakers could target Gary Trent Jr., Spencer Dinwiddie for mid-level exception

The Lakers could have two targets if they end up clearing enough salary cap space to have access to the taxpayer mid-level exception.

There was talk in recent days that perhaps LeBron James would take a pay cut on his next Los Angeles Lakers contract in order to allow the team to sign a difference-maker using their mid-level exception. However, one target after another said no to the Lakers, and James ended up officially signing on Saturday for a tad below the maximum salary they could’ve offered him.

As a result, they remain below the second apron of the NBA’s new ultra-restrictive salary cap.

If the Lakers do a bit of maneuvering, they could have access to their taxpayer mid-level exception. Per Jovan Buha and Shams Charania, Gary Trent Jr. and Spencer Dinwiddie could then be targets (h/t Lakers Daily).

Via The Athletic:

“LeBron James is taking a nearly $3 million discount to keep the Los Angeles Lakers under the dreaded second apron,” Buha and Charania wrote. “James is signing a two-year, $101.355 million deal instead of the two-year, $104 million maximum he could’ve re-signed for, according to league sources.

“Along with his player option and a no-trade clause, James’ contract also includes a 15 percent trade kicker, those sources said.

“James’ new contract puts the Lakers at just under the $188.9 million second apron. If the Lakers can salary dump a couple of their veteran minimum contracts — attaching a second-round pick to entice a trade partner — they’d create two roster spots and the flexibility to use the $5.2 million taxpayer midlevel exception. The Lakers have preferred to enter previous seasons with only 14 players on their roster for flexibility in trades and on the buyout market.

“Gary Trent Jr. and Spencer Dinwiddie are two names to watch for if the Lakers clear enough space to use their taxpayer midlevel exception, according to league sources.”

Trent is a 3-and-D wing who the Lakers have tried to obtain in the past. He averaged 13.7 points a game while hitting 39.3% from 3-point range this past season for the Toronto Raptors. At 6-foot-5, he would create a logjam at the shooting guard position for L.A., but he would likely be a better defender than Max Christie, Austin Reaves or first-round draft pick Dalton Knecht.

Dinwiddie came to the Lakers from the buyout market in February. The Southland native was a disappointment this past season while with L.A., but he has been productive in the past, and the hope is that he could return to that level of play under a better coaching staff.

Lakers are interested in re-signing Spencer Dinwiddie and Taurean Prince

The Lakers reportedly want to keep two of their depth pieces.

The first official day of NBA free agency ended with the Los Angeles Lakers making just one move — re-signing 21-year-old guard Max Christie to a four-year deal that will reportedly be worth $32 million.

It looks like their main free agent target, at least right now, is five-time All-Star guard Klay Thompson. Thompson, who is 34 years of age, is diminished after ACL and Achilles injuries a few years ago, but he is still a bona fide 3-point threat who needs to be accounted for.

The Lakers have some other incumbent players who are free agents, including, of course, LeBron James, who may be willing to take a pay cut on his next contract to accommodate someone such as Thompson.

They’re reportedly expected to have interest in keeping two of their other players who are now free agents: guard Spencer Dinwiddie and wing Taurean Prince.

Via HoopsHype:

“Before signing with the Lakers, the Dallas Mavericks expressed significant interest in Dinwiddie once he became a free agent, as both teams valued his ability to penetrate off the dribble and guard on the perimeter,” wrote Michael Scotto.

“Now, the Lakers and Mavericks are once again expected to have interest in Dinwiddie again as he enters free agency, league sources told HoopsHype.”

Dinwiddie came to Los Angeles from the buyout market in February, and while he was a disappointment, especially offensively, he did shoot well from 3-point range at times. If he were to remain with L.A., the hope is that improved coaching from JJ Redick would unleash his offensive capabilities.

While Prince is largely a one-dimensional player, that one dimension — 3-point shooting — is very important to a Lakers team that finished near the bottom of the NBA in 3-point attempts this past season. He did make an outstanding 39.6% of his attempts from downtown during the 2023-24 campaign.

“While we’re on the topic of Lakers players, the team is interested in re-signing forward Taurean Prince, league sources told HoopsHype.

“… Should Prince return to the Lakers, rival NBA executives project Prince to potentially command a deal somewhere in the range of two years and $11 million, which could be done by using his non-bird rights where the Lakers can offer a contract beginning at 120 percent of his salary from the previous season.”

Finances are a big issue for the Lakers, but some deft maneuvering by general manager Rob Pelinka, plus some good old-fashioned luck, could still result in a roster that will look significantly better this fall.

Redraft of 2014 has Sixers selecting Spencer Dinwiddie at No. 12

A redraft of 2014 has the Philadelphia 76ers taking Spencer Dinwiddie with the No. 12 pick.

The Philadelphia 76ers had an important 2014 NBA draft. They held two lottery picks (No. 3 and No. 10 entering the night) and needed to nail both.

With the No. 3 pick, the Sixers selected Joel Embiid, who has gone on to become one of the best players in the franchise’s history. With the No. 10 pick, the Sixers selected Elfrid Payton and traded him to the Orlando Magic for the No. 12 pick which turned into Dario Saric.

In a redraft of 2014 put together by HoopsHype, the Sixers go with Spencer Dinwiddie with that No. 12 pick:

The story of this draft seems to be overperforming second-round picks, with Spencer Dinwiddie being yet another guy to go in the lottery of this re-draft despite falling out of the first round on draft night. Of course, Dinwiddie likely wouldn’t have fallen that far had he not just torn his ACL during his final season at Colorado. It’s impressive that Dinwiddie has been able to bounce back from those injuries (he’s had other major issues since the one that ended his college career prematurely) as the tall playmaking bucket-getter remains a solid player to this day.

In 10 seasons, Dinwiddie has put together a solid career averaging 13.3 points and 5.2 assists. He has always used his size and strength to get his points and give any team he has played for some solid production. It is interesting to think about what he could have done in Philadelphia.

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Spencer Dinwiddie reflects on his role and performance this season

While Spencer Dinwiddie seems somewhat disappointed with his play while with the Lakers this season, he does feel he helped out in one way.

Despite plenty of trade rumors at midseason, the Los Angeles Lakers decided to make no trades ahead of this season’s trade deadline. The decision disappointed many fans who were hoping the team would make some sort of an upgrade to bolster its chances of going deep in the playoffs.

Instead, it added Spencer Dinwiddie from the buyout market. It was hoped the veteran guard, who is originally from the Southland, would give Los Angeles some scoring punch and another player who could attack downhill and create for his teammates.

But Dinwiddie made minimal impact offensively. Although he shot well from 3-point range at times, overall he made just 39.7% of his field-goal attempts and scored just 6.8 points a game during the regular season. He attempted just 7.5 shot attempts per 36 minutes with L.A., which was well below his career average of 13.5 attempts per 36 minutes.

In the Lakers’ first-round playoff loss to the Denver Nuggets, his playing time diminished, and he mustered just 3 points on 2.8 shot attempts a game and 35.7% field-goal shooting.

On the bright side, Dinwiddie had moments defensively, such as when he blocked a game-winning attempt by Damian Lillard to help the Lakers emerge victorious against the Milwaukee Bucks without LeBron James in March. He believes that at least in that regard, he helped out.

Via Lakers Nation:

“I think I came in, I feel like I was really selfless and bought into a role,” Dinwiddie said. “Tried to play defense to the best of my ability, tried to help out. Had some nice moments and we’ll see what the future holds.”

But he also expressed disappointment in how his time went overall with the Lakers.

“Career-wise, I can’t necessarily say there was benefit, per se. Obviously like we talked about, this wasn’t a role I normally play. I guess I got to show some defensive prowess but obviously a lot of people still expect me to do the other stuff. So we’ll see if that’s in the cards in free agency.

“Obviously we didn’t have the outcome we expected so I don’t know about professionally for now, but in general like I said, coming here in the manner that I did at the end of the year, stuff like that, it was all about buying into a role and trying to help this specific ball club accomplish whatever we could. I think I did that, for the most part.”

Some blame recently fired head coach Darvin Ham for Dinwiddie’s poor offensive production and believe Ham misused the guard. While Dinwiddie has historically shot a low percentage from the field, he did do well offensively during a short stint with the Dallas Mavericks while playing alongside Luka Doncic.

He said a few weeks ago he would love to stay with the Lakers for next season. However, if another team offers him more money, it may make sense for him to leave, at least financially.

Spencer Dinwiddie would love to stay with the Lakers next season

Spencer Dinwiddie called playing for his hometown Lakers a “childhood dream” and said he’s love to remain on their roster.

This could be an offseason defined by significant change for the Los Angeles Lakers. Several key members of their roster can or will become free agents this summer, starting, of course, with LeBron James.

The team opted not to make any moves ahead of the February trade deadline, which disappointed many fans. The only meaningful personnel move it made was to sign Spencer Dinwiddie, a veteran guard who had been traded by the Brooklyn Nets to the Toronto Raptors and was subsequently waived.

Dinwiddie had a few scattered moments of excellence. But, overall, he was a disappointment, and some believe he was misused offensively by Darvin Ham, who the team fired on Friday after two seasons as its head coach.

The guard, who is originally from the Southland, is about to become a free agent, and he said he would “love to be back” next season.

Via Silver Screen and Roll:

“I’m not somebody that necessary gets to call his own shots all the time,” Dinwiddie said. “That’s not my status in the league so we’ll have to see what happens. But if the Lakers want me back, I’d love to be back. Everything I said about this being a childhood dream and being able to play in my hometown, parents at every game, stuff like that, you couldn’t imagine anything better. Also playing alongside arguably the greatest player of all-time, right? There’s nothing really better than that.

“But you know how it is. Lakers are championship or bust so there’s probably going to be changes made and it’s all going to be in an effort to win the title. Obviously, if I’m able to be a part of that, it’ll be another dream come true.”

The 31-year-old isn’t the most efficient scorer, and his shot selection can be questionable. But his ability to attack downhill off the dribble and hit 3-pointers in catch-and-shoot situations could help the Lakers, especially if they hire a coach capable of utilizing his skills more than Ham did.

Spencer Dinwiddie would love to remain with the Lakers next season

Despite a disappointing stint with the Lakers after they signed him from the buyout market, Spencer Dinwiddie would like to stay put.

The offseason has started for the Los Angeles Lakers after the Denver Nuggets knocked them out of the NBA playoffs on Monday. It will be a very pivotal offseason that could hold a lot of change for them.

Multiple key members of the team can or will become free agents this summer. Of course, that starts with LeBron James, who has a player option for next season and was mum about what he may do following Game 5 of the series versus the Nuggets.

One Lakers player who will definitely be a free agent when the new league year begins is reserve guard Spencer Dinwiddie. He said on Monday he’d love to stick around for next season.

Los Angeles signed Dinwiddie from the buyout market in February. While some fans praised the move, he turned out to be a big disappointment.

In 28 regular season games with the team, the veteran guard mustered just 6.8 points and 2.4 assists in 24.2 minutes a game while shooting 39.7% from the field, although he did make 38.9% of his 3-point attempts. In five playoff games versus Denver, he was even worse: 3.0 points and 1.6 assists in 14.6 minutes a contest on 35.7% overall shooting and 25.0% from downtown.

In nine previous seasons, he had averaged 13.8 points and 5.3 assists in 27.7 minutes a game.

Perhaps Lakers head coach Darvin Ham misused him by not putting the ball in his hands more often and letting him attack downhill to get shots either for himself or a teammate.

Spencer Dinwiddie says he wants to remain with the Lakers

Even though his offensive production has been inconsistent since joining the Lakers, Spencer Dinwiddie says he wants to stay with the team.

After deciding to stand pat at the trade deadline, the Los Angeles Lakers added veteran guard Spencer Dinwiddie from the buyout market in February. While his offensive production has been spotty, he has helped on the defensive end while giving head coach Darvin Ham another option off the bench.

In 21 games with the Lakers, he has averaged 6.3 points on 24.7 minutes. While he has shot a poor 37.4% from the field, he has hit a respectable 35.9% from 3-point range. He even has the highest net rating on the team at 6.7. When he’s off the court, the Lakers’ net rating without him is -3.4.

While on the “Point Game” podcast with former NBA All-Star John Wall, Dinwiddie said he would love to stick with the Lakers past this season.

“Oh 1,000%. That’d be love. That would be a dream come true.”

Keeping the Los Angeles area native past this season would represent another move in favor of the continuity that executive Rob Pelinka emphasized last offseason. However, doing so may be tricky, as the team will likely have some trouble navigating the salary cap, which has become more restrictive.

Former Net Spencer Dinwiddie has strong words about coverage of his exit

Former Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie had some choice words for how the media covered his trade deadline exit earlier this season.

Spencer Dinwiddie is a member of the Los Angeles Lakers at the moment, but most people know him for his time with the Brooklyn Nets. Dinwiddie spent parts of seven seasons as a member of Brooklyn’s franchise and during that time, he made quite a mark on the fanbase and in the record books, but he feels a certain kind of way about how his most recent exit was covered.

Dinwiddie spoke to the media before Sunday’s matchup between his Lakers and the Nets and he had plenty of things to say about how he was covered following his trade at the deadline. Dinwiddie said that “everything” that was written about him following his departure from Brooklyn was wrong.

Given Dinwiddie’s performance for the Nets this season, he averaged 12.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game while shooting 39.1% from the field and 32.0% from deep, some wondered if Dinwiddie had lost a step compared to his play the previous season.

Among other things, Dinwiddie mentioned that “people say what they say” pertaining to how others talk about him and his career. While not being particularly specific about anything or anyone that he disagreed with, Dinwiddie said “So, sometimes obviously, as a player, things get mischaracterized or your voice gets drowned out. That’s just kind of the situation I ended up in.”

There were also some, Zach Lowe of ESPN arguably the most well-known among the people, who wondered if Dinwiddie was quitting on the Nets because of how the team was trying to prioritize Mikal Bridges and Cam Thomas within the offensive structure, something that Dinwiddie spoke about at various times during his time in Brooklyn this season.

In connection to these recent comments from Dinwiddie, he also spoke on how he feels that his time with the Nets this season has skewed the perception of him and what he can do at this point of his career.

Per Jovan Buha of The Athletic, Dinwiddie said that the way things happened in Brooklyn essentially “kind of put me more so in this box than my game being in the box.” Dinwiddie’s comments prior to Sunday’s game seem to be a continuation of those thoughts.

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