Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie has sustained a partially torn ACL in his right knee, the team announced in a press release. He’ll undergo surgery to repair the injury next week.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), Dinwiddie is expected to make a full recovery by the start of the 2021/22 season. The team said in its press release that further updates on the 27-year-old’s recovery timeline would be issued after surgery, but it seems likely that he’ll miss the rest of the ’20/21 season.
It’s a brutal blow for the Nets and for Dinwiddie, who suffered the injury during Sunday’s loss to Charlotte when he planted his right leg awkwardly during a drive. It was originally diagnosed as a knee strain, but the Nets cautioned that further testing would be conducted today. Those tests apparently showed the partial tear in his ACL.
Dinwiddie enjoyed a career-best season with the Nets last year, averaging 20.6 points and 6.8 assists per game. He could enter unrestricted free agency by declining a player option worth $12.3MM for ’20/21.
Dinwiddie emerged as a starter this season and was expected to be a third ball-handler alongside the likes of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. The team remains one of the deepest in the East, with Caris LeVert, Jeff Green and Taurean Prince as candidates to take Dinwiddie’s place in the starting lineup.
Assuming the Nets expect Dinwiddie to be out for the season, they can apply for a disabled player exception worth roughly $5.72MM. As we noted over the weekend, the final day to apply for this exception falls on March 3 this season, and teams have until mid-April to use their DPEs.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. JD Shaw contributed to this story.
This sucks, we really haven’t seen the full version of the Brooklyn Nets yet, and likely not until next year. Hoping he comes back strong. I’ll never forget that GarPax traded him for Cameron Bairstow. SMDH
I meant to add, they waived him right after too. Ugh stupid ass front office.
Am I missing something here…The Pistons traded him to the Bulls for Bairstow.
Yes, but then the Bulls waived him immediately, instead of trying to see what if he had any value. They did the same thing with JR Smith in the Tyson Chandler deal in 2005. Player scouting wasn’t actually a skill for Paxson and Forman.
Awful! His injury wasn’t the reason for the loss yesterday, but it is a bitter pill to swallow. The Nets finally get their superstars back and he won’t be there to support them. I figure TLC will be moved into the regular ten-man rotation now.
Man, that stinks. Get well soon, Spence! When I saw him leave the game last night I knew it wasn’t good. Total non-contact injury but he immediately walked to the sidelines. He had been struggling with playing off the ball but his injury leaves a major hole in the starting lineup. Caris is doing well off the bench. I’d say move TLC up to give them another sniper. He had some clutch 3s last night (Albeit not enough)
That sucks. I figure he would have declined that option too betting on himself this year. I think he may pick it up now.
He will still be getting a lot more than $12M when he opts out next summer.
I know Knicks will give him 16-20 mill. He loves the Garden. He fights with Knick fans all the time
How is that? Dins fan
Just terrible, the full strength Nets have arguably the strongest depth at 1-12 in the league. This cuts into their depth and brings them back to the rest of the pack.
Wow sucks for the nets but sucks even more for dinwiddie. He was getting his due. Why!
Major bummer, hate to see it. Although, I think TLC is a really talented player and can soak up Dinwiddie’s minutes effectively.
@bw22 I like TLC but there is a drop off from Dinwiddie and TLC in regard to what they bring to a team. A shame and hope he recovers nicely.
Unfortunately injury great player . I believe Bruce Brown should get some minutes great defender and good shooter .
The Nets are still deep, but now if Irving gets hurt (which he does a lot) or implodes mentally (which he does sometimes) they’re cooked.
Sad news for Dinwiddle and the Nets. The odds of him declining his option for next year just fell.
KAT’s injury is sad too. I thought they had a chance to be a Cinderella story this year, but KAT missing time is going to go poorly.
Yeah this will hurt. He’s a big part of rotation and depth. Knicks would still trade for him right now. Thank god it’s not total tear. If anything good out of this. Get healthy Spencer. Maybe comes back for Finals.
Harden officially not going to Brooklyn
Trade for D Rose. Just give that first rd pick. Nets won’t need it anyway.
Depth was hurting the nets. Coach trying to keep everyone happy with minutes and shots. Too many cooks. KD only getting 15 shots a game. The Dinwiddie loss may be a blessing in disguise. Don’t get me wrong, Dinwiddie is a baller. But the reality is he is barely above 40 and 30. His shots will now be distributed to more efficient offensive players. It baffles why KD, the best offensive player I have ever seen, only takes 15 to 16 shots. I know he plays the right way but if I was the coach he be taking 20 to 25 shots a game. He can get a good look at will. Feel for Dinwiddie. At least he has a player option next year if he wants it. Because this injury may hurt his value on the free agency market next year.
Big loss, but the Nets’ process has been good and I think they’ll just continue with it. No moves for now.
All that big deal about selling equity on his future contract, or whatever it was. Now he will be coming off a partial ACL. At least only partial… Durant is looking okay, and Dins might get a PG opening, which he compromised on his own by recruiting Irving. They were supposed to be the health questions.
Great example of a team-oriented player who could step up solo as needed.