Spencer Dinwiddie Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Prince, Dinwiddie, Nance, Kings

April 29th, 2022 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Timberwolves forward Taurean Prince will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, but he said on Friday that he “plans to return” to Minnesota for next season, as Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News relays (video link).

Prince told reporters that the strong camaraderie in the Wolves’ locker room is something he hasn’t experienced since college and praised head coach Chris Finch, comparing him to Mike Budenholzer, who coached Prince in Atlanta at the start of his NBA career. The 28-year-old added that he hopes Minnesota reciprocates his interest.

Prince averaged 7.3 PPG and 2.5 RPG on .454/.376/.756 shooting in 69 regular season games (17.1 MPG) during his first year in Minnesota. The Wolves will hold his Bird rights this summer, so they would be able to go over the cap to re-sign him without using any of their mid-level exception.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

Mavericks guard Spencer Dinwiddie earned a $100K bonus on Thursday when Dallas beat Utah to advance to the second round, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Dinwiddie would receive another $571K if the Mavs get past Phoenix and earn a spot in the Western Conference Finals.
Having played for four teams and eight head coaches since entering the NBA in 2015, Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr. would welcome some stability and said on Friday that he’d like to make New Orleans his permanent home, tweets William Guillory of The Athletic. Nance has just one year left on his current contract, but will be extension-eligible this offseason.
With Monte McNair believed to be entering the final guaranteed year of his contract with the Kings, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee wonders if the general manager will feel pressure to hire a veteran head coach such as Mike D’Antoni instead of a candidate without any head coaching experience.

Injury Updates: Doncic, Allen, Kennard, Collins, Niang

April 12th, 2022 at 1:31pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks put out a press release on Tuesday formally confirming that Luka Doncic is dealing with a strained left calf and announcing there’s no timetable for his return.

Dallas won’t have to officially list Doncic on the injury report until Friday, so the club will likely continue to be cagey about his availability for Game 1 vs. Utah. Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd declined to offer any specifics on Tuesday, offering coy responses about Doncic’s ability to practice and the possibility that he’ll play on Saturday, tweets Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News.

For what it’s worth, Kidd said multiple times that Doncic is “in great spirits,” while Mavericks guard Spencer Dinwiddie offered a positive assessment of his teammate’s status (Twitter link via Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News): “He seemed solid to me. I mean, he don’t seem like a guy that’s going to miss too much time, if any.”

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

The Cavaliers have officially listed Jarrett Allen (finger) as out for Tuesday’s play-in game vs. Brooklyn. An earlier report suggested there’s some hope that Allen would be able to play on Friday if Cleveland loses tonight.
Clippers sharpshooter Luke Kennard (hamstring) had been officially listed as questionable for Tuesday’s play-in game, but he didn’t make the trip to Minnesota, according to head coach Tyronn Lue (Twitter link via Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times).
Hawks big man John Collins, out since March 11 due to finger and foot injuries, played some 4-on-4 over the weekend, but head coach Nate McMillan isn’t sure whether he’ll be available for Wednesday’s play-in game vs. Charlotte, writes Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “He’s been moving a lot more, and today was pretty much shooting. … We’ll see tomorrow,” McMillan said on Tuesday. “We’ll see how he feels after the weekend of play and what he went through today.”
After missing the last two games of the regular season with a knee issue, Sixers forward Georges Niang was able to practice on Tuesday and should be ready for Game 1 on Saturday, head coach Doc Rivers told reporters, including Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).

Wizards Notes: Porzingis Trade, Satoransky, Special Someone

March 31st, 2022 at 12:51pm CST by Rory Maher

With the Wizards set to face the Mavericks on Friday night for the first time since the trade deadline, Tim Cato and Josh Robbins of The Athletic reassessed the deal that sent Kristaps Porzingis and a protected 2022 second-round pick to Washington in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans.

Cato and Robbins agree that it was a win-win trade for the two teams. Porzingis’ time in Dallas had clearly run its course, but he has been productive with Washington, averaging 21.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 3.1 APG, and 1.6 BPG on .472/.305/.866 shooting in 13 games. He has been a willing passer and aggressive in the post, averaging 7.5 free throw attempts.

In addition to his production, Robbins writes that the Wizards are happy with Porzingis’ approach and toughness — the 7’3″ big man played through a couple of ankle sprains in recent games.

Dinwiddie, meanwhile, has thrived in a complementary role in Dallas, where his role is more clearly defined. Through 18 games with his new club, he is averaging 17.2 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 4.2 APG on .498/.386/.720 shooting.

Dinwiddie has been able to spot-up for threes and drive-and-kick as a secondary or tertiary ball-handler next to Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson. Bertans is still struggling to convert shots, but the team is holding out hope that might change over time.

Here’s more on the Wizards:

Porzingis doesn’t expect the game against the Mavs to be as wild as when he played the Knicks for the first time after being dealt to Dallas, writes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. “I think it’s going to be a good game. It’s not going to be like my first game with Dallas in New York. That one was just crazy. This one is going to be a bit more just me competing against my old team. We’ll see,” he said.
Tomas Satoransky had a uniquely historic night on Wednesday, as Hughes relays in a separate story. Satoransky had a double-double without scoring a point, becoming just the third player in league history to accomplish the feat. The unselfish guard finished with 10 rebounds and 13 assists against just two turnovers, while shooting 0-of-2 from the field in the team’s 127-110 win over Orlando. “I don’t know if it’s good or bad, you know? I don’t know,” Satoransky joked. “I just let the game come to be a little bit. I was trying to be aggressive, but every time I would drive or was aggressive to the basket, it opened up space for my teammates. So, I tried to push the tempo from the beginning and I got some rebounds.” The 30-year-old veteran will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
The Wizards lack a “special someone” to set the team on the path to becoming a consistently winning franchise, according to David Aldridge of The Athletic. Washington definitely has some talented players, but no clear leader or catalyst.

Mavericks Notes: Dinwiddie, Brown, THJ, Luka

March 26th, 2022 at 9:04am CST by Rory Maher

Spencer Dinwiddie is making a major difference for the Mavericks and boosting their playoff prospects in the process, writes Chris Herring of Sports Illustrated.

Dinwiddie, who was acquired last month in the deal that sent Kristaps Porzingis to Washington, hit back-to-back game-winning threes at Boston and at Brooklyn earlier this month. The Mavs are 8-1 in clutch situations with Dinwiddie, and were just 12-15 in such situations prior to acquiring him, Herring writes.

Herring thinks there’s a case to be made that Dinwiddie might single-handedly offer Dallas its best opportunity to advance past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since Luka Doncic was drafted. Dinwiddie’s aggressive downhill drives force defenses to scramble, creating easier looks for teammates.

He’s also adept at getting to the free throw line (5.3 attempts per game with the Mavs), and does so at a higher rate per shot attempt than anyone on the team — including Doncic. Perhaps most importantly, Dallas has thrived with Dinwiddie on the court and Doncic off, outscoring opponents by 15.5 points per 100 possessions in 191 such minutes (prior to Friday’s loss to Minnesota).

As Herring details, the Mavs struggled mightily in the playoffs last season while Doncic was resting, but outscored the Clippers while he was on the court — Dinwiddie might be able to buoy those minutes if he can continue his strong play.

Here’s more on the Mavs:

Sterling Brown has entered the league’s health and safety protocols, the team’s PR department tweets. Brown tested positive for COVID-19, per Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link), and coach Jason Kidd said the team hopes there won’t be an outbreak. “That’s just part of the league. That’s just part of the world is COVID now, right? So it happens. We move forward. Next guy up,” said Kidd. “We just hope that it doesn’t spread throughout the team here late in the season. But we have to be prepared that something like this could happen going forward.”
Tim Hardaway Jr., who underwent foot surgery on February 1, has shed his walking boot and has been getting shots up prior to games, Townsend relays (via Twitter). Kidd said earlier this week that he doesn’t expect Hardaway to return for the playoffs, but the swingman previously stated that he hasn’t given up hope on a return this season. “I’ll say this: The further we go [in the playoffs], the better chance I have,” Hardaway told Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News. “That’s the answer I’ll give.”
Doncic was whistled for his 15th technical foul in Friday’s 116-95 loss at Minnesota, as Townsend of The Dallas Morning News tweets. If he gets another technical, Doncic will receive an automatic one-game suspension. However, that total will reset to zero when the playoffs roll around in a few weeks. At 45-29, the Mavs are currently the No. 5 seed in the West.

Mavs Notes: Dinwiddie, Chriss, Porzingis

March 17th, 2022 at 8:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Spencer Dinwiddie got a fresh start after being traded to the Mavericks and he’s appreciative of the opportunity, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon writes. Dinwiddie was part of the blockbuster deal with Washington that sent Kristaps Porzingis back to the Eastern Conference.

“People said I was a bad guy, people said I was washed, all that stuff after 30 games coming off an ACL, which sucks,” Dinwiddie said. “But (GM) Nico (Harrison) didn’t have to have that faith. He didn’t have to pull that trigger, especially with a player the caliber of Porzingis, an All-Star-caliber player.”

Dinwiddie made the game-winning 3-pointer against Brooklyn on Wednesday off a feed from Luka Doncic. Dinwiddie credited the team’s franchise player for making that decision.

“You can make people feel wanted, you can make them feel not wanted. You can trust them, not trust them. … He’s the superstar,” Dinwiddie said. “He could have done whatever he wanted.”

We have more on the Mavericks:

Dinwiddie is in the first year of a three-year, $54MM contract but he hasn’t completely settled in following his midseason trade, Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News notes. Dinwiddie has been staying in a variety of hotels and hasn’t looked for a home or signed a lease in Dallas. He wants to wait until the offseason to rent or buy a home to ensure he’s in the team’s plans beyond this season.
Backup big man Marquese Chriss has returned to practice and coach Jason Kidd is hopeful he will be available for one of the team’s games this weekend, MacMahon tweets. Chriss hasn’t played since February 10 due to knee soreness.
By dealing Porzingis, the Mavericks have plenty of flexibility to make a “home-run trade” for another star player over the next two years, according to The Athletic’s John Hollinger. The team will also have the ability to deal multiple first-round picks now that the obligations from the Porziņgis deal have either been fulfilled or will be in the near future, Hollinger adds.
In case you missed it, former exec Donnie Nelson has filed a lawsuit against the franchise.

Cavaliers Sign Moses Brown To 10-Day Deal

March 10th, 2022 at 11:10am CST by Rory Maher

MARCH 10: Cleveland has officially signed Brown, the team announced in a press release.

MARCH 9: The Cavaliers are signing Moses Brown to a 10-day deal, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The young center played for the Mavericks this season but was waived as part of the two-for-one trade that sent Kristaps Porzingis to Washington in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans.

Brown, 22, had his $1,701,593 salary guaranteed for 2021/22 ahead of the January 10 deadline despite playing a very limited role for Dallas. He appeared in 26 games for the Mavs, averaging a modest 6.5 MPG. He was productive last season for the Thunder, averaging 8.6 PPG, 8.9 RPG and 1.1 BPG in 43 games (21.4 MPG).

Brown has shown he’s a strong rebounder, but possesses very limited ball skills and is often slow to rotate defensively. He’s definitely a raw, unfinished product at this stage of his career, but he’s flashed some upside and could develop with time.

It’s basically a no-risk flier on an intriguing 7’2″ prospect for the Cavs, who will be without All-Star center Jarrett Allen for an indefinite period after he suffered a fractured finger on Sunday. I’m skeptical that Brown will actually crack Cleveland’s rotation once the signing becomes official, given that the team is trying to make the playoffs for the first time in four seasons

Coach J.B. Bickerstaff has relied on Dean Wade, Kevin Love, Cedi Osman and Lamar Stevens when the team has dealt with frontcourt injuries this season, with occasional spot minutes to veteran Ed Davis. However, the Cavs have an open roster spot and if Brown impresses during his 10 days, they could sign him for the remainder of the season as injury insurance if Allen is out for an extended period.

Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com tweets that the Brown will meet the team in Miami and the plan is for him to be available for Friday’s contest against the Heat.

Wizards Waive Joel Ayayi

March 9th, 2022 at 9:44am CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards waived rookie shooting guard Joel Ayayi on Tuesday, according to NBA.com’s official transactions log. Ayayi had been on a two-way contract.

After going undrafted out of Gonzaga last July, Ayayi signed a two-way deal with the Lakers, but was cut just before the season began. The Frenchman was claimed off waivers by Washington and had spent the last few months with the franchise.

Ayayi appeared in seven NBA games for the Wizards this season, but logged just 20 total minutes in those games and has spent most of his time with the Capital City Go-Go in the G League. In 31 NBAGL contests (32.0 MPG), he has averaged 9.5 PPG, 6.4 APG, and 5.6 RPG on .455/.264/.548 shooting.

Washington is reportedly signing Jordan Schakel to a two-way contract, meaning either Ayayi or Cassius Winston had to be cut in order to create room on the team’s 17-man roster. It appears the Wizards have opted to hang onto Winston.

And-Ones: MVP Race, Fenway Sports Group, 2022 Draft

March 7th, 2022 at 2:16pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2021/22 MVP race is one for the ages, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, who contends that we “aren’t talking about it nearly enough.” As Hollinger outlines, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Sixers center Joel Embiid are each in the midst of a historic season and would be a clear MVP frontrunner if it weren’t for the presence of the other two.

If the season ended today, Hollinger notes, Jokic (32.3) and Antetokounmpo (32.0) would have the two highest single-season PERs in NBA history, while Embiid’s (31.0) would also make the top 10. Hollinger says he’d pick Jokic for MVP if forced to decide right now, but with over a month left in the season, there’s still plenty of time for Antetokounmpo and Embiid to strengthen their cases.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Gerry Cardinale, a shareholder in Fenway Sports Group, says that adding an NBA franchise is “a real top priority” for the massive Boston-based firm, as Michael Silverman of The Boston Globe writes. The FSG conglomerate already owns MLB’s Boston Red Sox, the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Premier League’s Liverpool FC.
Wake Forest guard Alondes Williams, Kansas guard Christian Braun, and Colorado State forward David Roddy are among the best bets to further improve their draft stock with strong performances to finish out the NCAA season, says Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report. Wasserman also singles out four other prospects who are candidates to rise up draft boards in the coming weeks.
Touching on several stories from around the NBA in his latest article for The Ringer, Kevin O’Connor makes a case for why the Knicks should lean more heavily on their young players, breaks down what Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans have brought to the Mavericks, and praises the work the Rockets have done developing their rookies this season. O’Connor also argues that the NBA should tweak its playoff format to allow top seeds to pick their first-round opponents.

Wizards Notes: Porzingis, Bryant, Neto, Dinwiddie

March 7th, 2022 at 11:07am CST by Luke Adams

Playing on Sunday for the first time since January 29, Kristaps Porzingis was on a minutes restriction in his Wizards debut upon returning from a right knee injury. However, he still managed to rack up 25 points in just over 21 minutes of action, playing a key role in the club’s victory over Indiana.

After the game, Porzingis was wearing a “perma-grin” when he spoke to reporters, according to Ava Wallace of The Washington Post. The big man said his move from Dallas to Washington has been “a smooth transition all the way around,” and drew praise from his new teammates who were playing alongside him for the first time.

“It was phenomenal,” forward Kyle Kuzma said. “Teams can’t just load up on me, having that extra guy out there that causes a lot of threat to defenses. With him, he’s so versatile. … There’s a reason why they call him ‘The Unicorn.'”

With Bradley Beal out for the rest of the season due to a wrist injury, Porzingis won’t have an opportunity to develop chemistry with the Wizards’ franchise player in the coming weeks. But he said on Sunday that he looks forward to getting that chance next season, assuming Beal – who can become a free agent this summer – remains in D.C.

“I feel good here, honestly,” Porzingis said, per Wallace. “… Hopefully we’ll have Brad next season. I don’t know what the situation is, but I would love to play with him and Kuz and the rest of the guys. I think there are some exciting things to look forward to.”

Here’s more on the Wizards:

There may not be enough frontcourt minutes to go around with Porzingis in the rotation, Wallace writes for The Washington Post, noting that Thomas Bryant was a DNP-CD on Sunday. Bryant had previously played in 11 straight games, averaging 19.4 MPG during that stretch.
Wizards point guard Raul Neto missed the second half of Sunday’s win due to a left ankle sprain, per Wallace. Head coach Wes Unseld Jr. said after the game that Neto was moving well and will be considered day-to-day going forward. Typically a backup, Neto has been Washington’s starting point guard since the trade deadline and was playing well, averaging 11.5 PPG and 5.1 APG on .500/.429/.773 shooting in his last 10 games.
Responding to Spencer Dinwiddie‘s comments about his time in Washington and his claim that he was “kicked out the door,” Unseld and Kuzma both expressed a desire to move forward, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. “I’m not going to get into the accuracy of (Dinwiddie’s comments). It’s one of those things where, organizationally, it worked and he was aggressive early. We won a lot of games,” Unseld said. “Bottom-line, we had to make a change [at the trade deadline] and to get something we had to give up something. He’s a really talented guy, he’s playing well and he’s healthy. We look forward to seeing the benefit of that trade. It is what it is. I think it’s one of those things where we just have to move on and get past it.”

Spencer Dinwiddie Says He Tried To Make Things Work In Washington

March 5th, 2022 at 11:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

Spencer Dinwiddie, who was traded to the Mavericks at last month’s deadline, wants to erase any impression that he wasn’t a good teammate with the Wizards, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

Dinwiddie signed a three-year, $54MM contract with Washington during the offseason, but never quite meshed with Bradley Beal in the Wizards’ backcourt. There were reports that he wasn’t popular in the locker room, and he said in January that his attempts to be a team leader weren’t well received.

“I think that’s what hurt the most,” Dinwiddie said after tonight’s game. “I’ve never bashed Washington. I’ve never said an ill thing about the team. In fact, I thank the owner or chairman Ted [Leonsis], I thank Tommy Sheppard the GM and I thank [Beal] for those three kind of collectively deciding to give me my contract. They didn’t have to pay somebody coming off an ACL.

“I’m appreciative of that, appreciative of my time there. … So to be bashed out on the way out the door hurt my feelings for sure. I think I’m human, of course.”

Dinwiddie has become a valuable sixth man in Dallas, averaging 22.2 points and 6.0 assists since the All-Star break while shooting 57.1% from the field. The Mavericks are 6-1 in the games Dinwiddie has played, and he says he’s glad that coach Jason Kidd has given him the freedom to aggressively attack the basket.

He also pointed out that things also started well for him in Washington, where he averaged 17.0 points and 6.0 assists per game and served as a dangerous clutch-time shooter as the team started the season 10-3 . However, he slumped badly as his time with the Wizards wore down, shooting 27% and scoring just 8.4 points per night as the team lost eight of the final nine games he played.

“I was fighting through for those guys,” Dinwiddie said. “When the role changed and they wanted me to pass more — they felt like I was scoring a lot — I did that. I took my foot off the gas scoring-wise because that’s what they felt — the team needed to get [Kyle Kuzma] and [Kentavious Caldwell-Pope] and those guys shots. I said, ‘Look, I already got paid. This is about y’all trying to get the shots that y’all need, whatever.’

“So to get kind of kicked out the door was a wild feeling. I hadn’t really experienced that before. But I still have nothing ill to say other than, yes, it hurt my feelings. But just like anything else, you become cautiously optimistic about your new situation. So far, it’s a great fit. I love what they ask me to do here, which is get in the paint, and I’m going to continue to do that and continue to try to be of service.”