Getty
D’Angelo Russell #1 of the Los Angeles Lakers is guarded by Spencer Dinwiddie #26 formerly of the Brooklyn Nets.
The Los Angeles Lakers are among the teams Spencer Dinwiddie is considering signing with after the Toronto Raptors waived him, according to SNY’s Ian Begley. The feeling is mutual. “The Lakers are known to have interest in Spencer Dinwiddie,” Action Network’s Matt Moore wrote on January 21. “[He] is likely to generate a market before the deadline.”
However, the Lakers have strong competition in the Dallas Mavericks, Dinwiddie’s former team. The 30-year-old Dinwiddie was spotted watching the Mavericks game on Thursday, February 8, against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden a few hours after he was traded and subsequently waived. The Los Angeles native sat behind Dallas’ bench and he was also seen chatting with Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban.
Marc Cuban recruiting his ass off with Dinwiddie lol.
The Lakers stood pat at the trade deadline and saved up their lone draft capital for a bigger move in the offseason. But they are a little thin at their backcourt, especially after D’Angelo Russell (knee) joined Gabe Vincent (knee) on the sidelines of the Lakers’ 114-106 loss to defending champion Denver Nuggets with a knee injury. Dinwiddie can come in and provide them with veteran experience and depth behind Russell and Austin Reaves.
The free-agent combo guard averaged 12.6 points, 6.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 48 games with the Brooklyn Nets this season. They traded Dinwiddie for former Lakers backup point guard Dennis Schroder and Thaddeus Young from Toronto. Dinwiddie spent one-and-a-half season with the Mavericks before he was shipped to Brooklyn in the Kyrie Irving trade last year.
The Lakers’ pitch to prospective buyout candidates, which include Dinwiddie, are aplenty. ESPN’s Dave McMenamin listed several of them on X, formerly Twitter, shortly after the trade deadline had passed on Thursday. Among them are $1.5 million prorated salary, which trumps other teams’ projected maximum offer of $1 million. The Lakers saved some money by not giving Vincent their full midlevel exception in free agency. But the biggest of them all is the lure of playing at home where Dinwiddie grew up.
LAL pitch to players on the buyout market:
– We are built for the playoffs, be a part of that
– We can offer ~ $1.5m prorated because of the money we held onto when not giving Vincent full MLE. Other teams can only offer ~$1m prorated
– Have you ever been to Southern California??
Dinwiddie’s High School Stardom and Lakers’ Trade Deadline Standstill
Spencer Dinwiddie, a standout player from William Howard Taft High School in the Woodland Hills district, just 24 miles away from the Lakers’ Crypto.com arena, has quite the impressive resume. In 2011, he was named the John R. Wooden California High School Player of the Year and even led his team to win the city championship during his senior year.
When it comes to the Lakers’ decision-making at the trade deadline, Rob Pelinka, the team’s general manager and vice president of basketball operations, offered an intriguing analogy. He compared their approach to buying a house, stating that you can’t purchase a property that isn’t up for sale. Pelinka emphasized that while they are always on the lookout for ways to upgrade their roster, they didn’t want to make a small move that would only result in marginal improvement. Instead, they are focused on potentially making a bigger and more impactful move in June and July.
The Lakers had their sights set on Dejounte Murray from the Atlanta Hawks, but the asking price proved to be too steep. The Hawks demanded two first-round picks, which the Lakers were not willing to part with. As a result, Murray remained in Atlanta for the rest of the season.
Looking ahead to the NBA Draft in June, the Lakers are optimistic about their chances of acquiring a star player. With three first-round picks at their disposal, they believe they have the assets necessary to make a significant move that could greatly benefit the team’s future.
According to the Source heavy.com