NBA News: Lakers Adding Spencer Dinwiddie
Well, that was quick. Less than 48 hours after he entered the buyout market, Spencer Dinwiddie is set to join the Los Angeles Lakers. For a team that has been hindered with injuries — particularly to their guards — signing Dinwiddie on a minimum contract is a huge bonus for the purple and gold.
Background
Spencer Dinwiddie just wrapped up his seventh season with the Brooklyn Nets before being traded to and waived by the Toronto Raptors. In 48 games with the Nets, he averaged 12.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 6 assists per contest on admittedly rough shooting splits — 39% from the field, 32% from three and 78% from the free-throw line. Despite a rocky end to his time with the Nets, he still gave them a steady facilitator who could score when needed. It’s also worth noting that just last year, he shot a career-best 40.5% from distance with the Dallas Mavericks, in addition to 17.7 PPG and 5.3 APG. Dinwiddie is joining his fifth team in ten seasons, adding immense value to a contender with high hopes and expectations.
What Dinwiddie Brings to the Table
The Lakers, as mentioned earlier, were desperately in need of backup point guards. With Gabe Vincent still recovering from knee surgery and Austin Reaves rejoining the starting lineup, LA lacked a solid backup facilitator — until now.
The LA native Dinwiddie has found sucess in both starting and secondary lineups. In 203 career games off the bench, he’s averaged 11.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game on .426/.331/.777 splits. The Lakers were limited with backup playmakers, particularly when Reaves was making his case for Sixth Man of the Year. But now, Dinwiddie can fill that role full-time and provide stability in an otherwise turbulent rotation. He’s been a solid ball-handler, shooter and facilitator throughout his career, and will allow the rest of the Lakers offense to thrive with his help.
The Athletic’s Jovan Buha analyzed specific areas the veteran could impact:
“He’s been a double-digit scorer for five straight seasons (excluding an injury-plagued 2020–21 season), and has averaged 6.0-plus assists in four seasons. He recently shot 40.4 percent on 3s over his two half-seasons in Dallas from 2021 to 2023. His shooting has regressed since leaving Dallas (32.0 percent on 3s this season), and whether that returns will be a considerable factor in how useful he can ultimately be for a team that needs spacers around its stars. Defensively, Dinwiddie has the physical tools to be an above-average defender, but his effort and focus has waned on Brooklyn. He should be at least serviceable on that end.”
LeBron James and Anthony Davis spoke highly of Dinwiddie after Friday’s 139–122 win over the Pelicans.
Dinwiddie is also reuniting with several familiar faces. He played with D’Angelo Russell (2017–19) and Taurean Prince (2019–21) in Brooklyn, and with Christian Wood in Dallas last season.
That familiarity will only help him as he adjusts to the team. He could act as a key player in lineups without Russell or Reaves, and is the perfect backup guard to help James and Davis. Based on the aforementioned comments and his relationships to current Lakers, there’s no doubt he can gel with them right away — essential for a team that’s in need of a push for the playoffs.
The Lakers Going Forward
While Dinwiddie will be a vital piece for a Lakers squad that’s found recent success, they still have quite a ways to go before April rolls around. There’s a chance they could scour the market for a backup four — another position of need considering Jarred Vanderbilt’s injury. They’ll also need to address the rotation once Cam Reddish returns from an ankle sprain.
All in all, though the past week didn’t end with major changes that fans expected, the Lakers still made an improvement around the margins, checking a box to help their rotation and keep them rolling in the right direction.
