8:16pm: The signing is official, the Lakers announced (via Twitter).
“Spencer is returning to his roots and the city where his journey began,” general manager Rob Pelinka said. “… His play-making and aggressiveness from the guard position provides us valuable depth as we continue our strong push toward the back half of the season.” (Twitter link)
10:06am: Former Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie plans to sign with the Lakers after clearing waivers, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). Dinwiddie was traded on Thursday from Brooklyn to the Raptors, who subsequently cut him.
The Lakers were one of a few playoff teams who offered Dinwiddie a significant role on the roster, Charania tweets. Head of basketball operations Rob Pelinka said this week that the team was targeting a “ball-handling guard” in the buyout market.
The Pelicans, Sixers, and Mavericks were also cited as potential suitors for Dinwiddie, with Dallas viewed as the Lakers’ top competition. The guard played for the Mavs during parts of two seasons from 2022-23 before being sent to Brooklyn as part of last year’s Kyrie Irving blockbuster.
As we pointed out, the Lakers have about $1.5MM left of their prorated mid-level exception, since they didn’t sign Gabe Vincent to the full MLE. They’ll use the leftover portion to sign Dinwiddie, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin confirms, adding that the 30-year-old narrowed his decision to the Lakers and Mavs before choosing L.A.
Los Angeles has an open roster spot, so the team won’t have to cut anyone to bring Dinwiddie in. Cap expert Yossi Gozlan observes the Lakers will have plenty of room beneath the tax apron for other signings, if they so choose (Twitter link).
Dinwiddie is averaging 12.6 points and 6.0 assists in 48 games this season. While his second stint in Brooklyn wasn’t as successful as his first, he has been an important playoff contributor for both the Nets and the Mavericks over the past two seasons. In his last 22 postseason games over the past two years, he’s averaged 14.6 points while shooting 41.2% from beyond the arc. He’ll look to help propel the currently ninth-place Lakers into the playoffs.
Dinwiddie grew up a fan of the Lakers and Kobe Bryant, and playing for the team was always a dream of his, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto (Twitter link).
For what it’s worth, Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell already expressed he was on board with the idea of bringing Dinwiddie in and is a big fan of his, according to Jovan Buha (Twitter link). “Y’all will get to know him soon,” Russell said following the Lakers’ Friday game against New Orleans. Russell and Dinwiddie played together on the Nets from 2017-19.
Smart move by Spencer D. Could start and if he plays well, he can get another payday like the past
Spenve not as good as Reaves or Russell nor shoots the 3 as well as Gabe Vincent. Ham is not starting him. His defense is avg.
Dinwiddie shot 40% from 3PT. When he played with Luka. Good looks. He’ll get that with Lakers. Good move
Literally the same player as D’Angelo Russell. They’re gonna get one look at his defense and do the forehead slap. Also, Lakers fans, get ready for the guy to not hustle down the floor when hems complaining to the refs after every shot he takes.
Sorry, Nets fan here. Dinwiddie just didn’t make me very happy haha
So you are going to kick him in the butt on the way out the door… Not a good look, man
Yes, because I am secretly Joe Tsai and I represent the integrity of the Nets.
If he complains about the refs a lot, he’ll fit right in with the Lakers. Maybe Lebron can work with him, to perfect the art of blaming the referees each time they lose. The one aspect of the game, Lebron can legitimately claim “GOAT” status on.
Another LA kid coming back home to try to bring another title to the Lake Show like MCooper & countless other greats before him… link to m.youtube.com
Dinwiddie doesn’t make Lakers a title contender.
Right. LeBron James does that.. link to m.youtube.com
AD is the best player on the team. Without AD they are like the 76ers without Embiid. LeBron just plays offense he rarely makes it by the basket on defense.
lol.. a good exercise for u to try this weekend would be to attempt to get to the root of why u hate on these guys so much and why their success and their talent seem to irk u so much. Maybe watch an NBA game and write down how u feel when u see LeBron or Harden or Kyrie having a great game
Not hate but the truth. Take any team in the west if they lose their best player they will not win the championship. Ham knows that AD is the key to being in the playoffs. LeBron could get injured and it would not hurt them with the bench players they have.
ur a delusional hater. My original comment was about Dinwiddie coming back to LA to play for his hometown team. That minute slice of positivity was too much for u to handle so u started hating on the Lakers talking about how they aren’t title contenders, which had nothing to do with my comment. Like I say, u should take time to try to understand why u are like this.
You said it makes the Lakers a title contender and all I said it doesn’t. Dinwiddie going to any team doesn’t make that team a title contender. You are the one that is emotional. Do you see the Lakers as a top 4 team in the west? LAC, OKC, DEN, and MINN are all better teams.
When did I say Dinwiddie made anyone a title contender? This is why people call u delusional
Good lord. Can both of you go back to hyping up your 11 seed squads and leave the bickering to the rest of us?
and apparently u object to not being paid attention to lol ok here u go… attention
right here…Another LA kid coming back home to try to bring another title to the Lake Show like MCooper & countless other greats before him
so basically u object to the Lakers even attempting to win the NBA championship this season lol
Yeah, well, if whatever team you root for in the NBA picked up Dinwiddie, I’d bet you’d be whistling a different tune Dinwiddie is a nice get for LA. won’t cost them a thing. I’m glad they stood pat at the deadline. Everybody (especially Atlanta), was trying to rob the Lakers thinking LA might be desperate enough to overpay for somebody like Murray. Now, the Lakers will have 3 1st round picks to dangle for a stud this summer. Good strategy by Pelinka.
Pelinka is pulling yall with puppet strings. The Lakers didn’t stay pat by design… they just couldn’t find anybody to take Russell. Wasn’t no great strategy on Pelinka’s part. Literally, they tried to make moves and couldn’t do anything because no team in the league wants Russell – including the team he’s on!
But, he’s spinning it to the media and people are buying it.
For all you clowns that can’t type out a paragraph with out the sentence ” the Lakers aren’t title contenders “, well, they got to the final four last year, and they are a better team this year. Look, the Lakers have had a tendency in recent years to coast during the regular season. With Lebron close to 40, and AD being injury prone, they can’t bust their balls every night like some teams with a younger roster might, they aim to make the playoffs, and then turn up the burner and see what happens. My point is there is a long way to go and it’s a little shortsighted to declare absolutes at this point in the season.
We can Absolutely say. Lakers are not contenders. They are pretenders.
The Bron Era is over. For now.
They may have one more shot. Next yr when they have more picks to trade. Means Bron has to have another yr in him.
AD is their best all around player but LeBron even though he’s lost a step is still better than 90 of the players in the league. He’s irreplaceable on the offensive end, you take him away they’re a lottery team.
You have got to be kidding. Lebron is the glue that holds the Lakers together. Yeah, at this point AD, so much younger than Lebron, would be considered the best player on the Lakers, but without Lebron, the Lakers are a rudderless ship. As someone who watches almost every Laker’s game with League Pass, when Bron goes to the bench, a person is thinking, “just hold the fort, hold the fort”.
” Lebron could get injured, and it would not hurt them with the bench players they have”. That remark is a finalist for the most ignorant comment of the year. I mean, holy crap. Actually, lol, I wish that were true. But as I said in some other comment on this subject, as somebody who catches every Laker game on DirecTV League Pass that I can, when Lebron goes to the bench for a breather, or when he is out for a particular game, ” I see a bad moon a’rising “–CCR. In other words without Lebron, the Lakers are more often than not, in deep s**t.
Ham doesn’t know a damn thing; most of all, what he’s doing. Gonna be fun to see him running a lineup of new guy, Prince, and over rated oft injured Vincent to try to close games.
Man you are obsessed with Lebron Arc
Every chance you get for years to rip into this guy – Let it go
So you are saying LeBron is better than AD? SMH LeBron is offense only now at this time of his career. AD is the presence inside that runs their defense.
He said “ try “ arc
Your the one clearly pushing all the narratives here and you know it
You do this every Laker thread and it impresses nobody. Don’t sidetrack now you gonna spit vitriol spit it and own it
ARC 2 has the right to express his opinion, just like anybody else here does. TONS of people hate LeBron James, and the circus that follows him wherever he goes. A lot of people still ridicule him for “The Decision”, and making it like he was announcing his candidacy for the Presidency of the United States, or something. So ridiculous.
For me, I liked Lebron during his first tenure in Cleveland. Didn’t love him, but liked him, and enjoyed seeing such a young guy be so dominant. I began to hate him, during that Finals with the Heat and Mavs, when Dirk had the flu, and Wade and Lebron made total asses out of themselves by mocking him, by fake coughing when being interviewed. Loved it, that the Mavericks dominated that series, and Dirk walked right off the court, without acknowledging those two classless buffoons. Then it was back to Cleveland, and finally the most absolutely predictable event to ever happen in professional sports history, Lebron signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, a move I predicted he’d do, when he was still in High School.
I’ve never liked his attitude, nor his style of play. He’s got the ugliest jump shot that I’ve ever seen. As it’s been throughout his career, when his teams are playing well, it’s all because of Lebron. When his teams are struggling, it’s ALWAYS because “he doesn’t have enough help”, or other guys are said to be playing poorly. Is it EVER Lebron’s fault? I have zero doubt, that had Kevin Durant stayed with Golden State, with Curry, Thompson, and Green, Lebron would have signed there, just to ensure more championships, and make people forget about his rather pitiful record in the NBA Finals. In short, I truly believe the majority of America is sick and tired of LeBron James, and the Los Angeles Lakers, especially having them rammed down our throats EVERY single Christmas Day, even when they are a mediocre team. The TV ratings for the Lakers vs. Celtics Christmas Day game, this season, certainly validates my point. The majority of America will be very happy, when Lebron finally retires, and it’ll be good for the game.
40 year old shouldn’t be the best player.
They are not a title contender, they have chance to make 2nd seed based on match up.
I’m pretty sure nobody is currently 40yrs old in the NBA
Al Horford is getting close.
Al Horford is 37, but the way the Celtics baby him, by sitting him EVERY single second game of a back to back, makes him seem like he’s 47. Hopefully, when newly acquired Xavier Tillman is ready to play, he can take up the IMMENSE pressure Horford must feel to play in two straight games.
LeBron James …. 40 on Dec 30.
PJ Tucker 38 1/2. yrs old.
We’re talking about Lebron James here. One of a kind. One of 2 players in the conversation for the GOAT. Lebron will be 40 on Dec 30, 2024. Your argument is pretty much gaslighting. Granted, the Lakers have been way too inconsistent to be a favorite for the title. But if they pull it together like last year, when they made the Conference finals, against a Denver team that was a juggernaut heading for the title, they might, I said might, have a shot. Still a long ways to go. But not too many teams would want to face the Lakers in a short series.
To brick shots and get criticized? Good luck!
Another G on a team who needs competent bigmen. It’s AD and then nothing. Doesn’t move the needle for Lakers.
Knock on Wood
As in Christian? Not a compotent big. Ham has more trust in Jaxson Hayes.
Yet lakers were afraid to trade him.
I had a feeling hed land there since they balked on murray
What happened to the Mavs?
Exactly. A lot of Laker haters were certain Spencer was headed to Dallas. Now that he’s signed with LA, Dinwiddie is suddenly really not much, he won’t move the needle, Lakers aren’t title contenders, and all the other BS these clowns can think up to badmouth the Lakers. Stupid, narrow minded losers.
One positive aspect to this is the fact that Dinwiddie can play more off-ball with the Lakers, as he clearly does better in that sort of role (as was the case with Luka) than as a primary distributor. Still, I’m skeptical he’ll be as good as he was last season for the Mavs. But somewhere between that and how he played for the Nets would be good enough for a reliable bench role.
Lakers need to play to their strengths. With LeBron running the point, they can be one of the top offensive teams in the league as seen in their nearly 90 point half against NOLA. Defensively they can rely on AD and hopefully Vando if he comes back healthy. As long as they avoid Denver this team can make a run.
Yeah a run of poo down their leg…
Like Paul Pierce in 2008, Lakers skid their way to the title
Yes, if the title is “the day some poo ran down my leg”
Excellent move. Who else could they get. He’s a good fit in LA. I like it.
Dinwiddie is bound to come in to LA fired up and anxious to contribute. He can score and his defense pretty solid, most of the time. Do a little research on Dinwiddie’s defense. He is not as terrible as some of the detractors would have you believe..
Big three?
Good pick up
Love Reaves but man he is def not a Pg facilitator, major problems just getting into sets
When Dlo/LBJ go to bench and its just Austin running the O its extremely painful to watch. Good to know tho going forward for LAL as we got to see it (not) work now rather than wonder going into the offseason
Reaves has improved his playmaking averaging 7 assists in his past 5 games but it will be nice to have at least 2 initiators on the court at all times.
Assists don’t tell the story
He does a lot of things excellent, (cut, pass, penetrate, a connector, gets in paint, can get to the line, knock down shots) but lead point is not one, in fact its kinda brutal….but…thats fine, its better to know now than before the offseason when they need to re-calibrate their needs
They still don’t have enough. They might make the 2nd round. If they play OKC, LAC, Denver or the Wolves in round 1, you can forget about it.
This Lakers team still has some interesting pieces… They massively underperformed after taking the IST…
This one moves the needle when Dlo is having down nights… But they need to do something about their defensive holes…