Spencer Dinwiddie

Nets Notes: Vaughn, Ollie, Marks, Bridges, Budenholzer

February 21st, 2024 at 11:45am CST by Luke Adams

Speaking on Tuesday to reporters, including ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Nets general manager Sean Marks said there wasn’t a single event or game that made the team decide to fire head coach Jacque Vaughn. While some Brooklyn players expressed frustration following a December 27 loss in which the team sat several regulars, as well as after last Wednesday’s 50-point blowout loss in Boston, Marks pointed to a general lack of energy and effort when asked for specifics on what went into the decision to dismiss Vaughn.

“It’s about the level of compete,” Marks said. “We’re not going to be the most talented team in the league. I’m not an idiot. I totally understand that. But at the same time, this is a talented group of young men out there. And my expectations, and I think their expectations, should be to hold each other accountable to do the little things. The effort plays, the loose balls, the contested shots and so forth, diving on the floor.

“These are things that should be expected when you’re in a place that we’re at right now, where we’re clawing and grappling for every single thing we can. That’s what I would hope to see over these next 28 games, and that’s probably, to be quite frank, some things I haven’t seen. The level of effort and the level of compete has not always been there.”

New interim head coach Kevin Ollie made that lack of energy and hustle a focus in his first practice with the club on Tuesday, as Bontemps details. Ollie pointed out that the Nets don’t recover enough loose balls or draw enough charges, referring to the team’s poor numbers in those categories as “losing basketball.”

“I got something called EGBs, which is energy generating behaviors, and it’s 17 behaviors of those things. And we went through the list extensively today,” Ollie said on Tuesday. “(They) have nothing to do with talent but everything to do with heart and will. And I think that’s what it comes down to.

“Remember, I played 15 years professionally, 13 years in this league, and never once (had) a coach call a play for me. I had to get it with grit. I had to get it with determination. I had to get it with a mindset that we’re going to get better each and every day. That’s how I coach, that’s what I’m going to demand. I want them to demand that from me, and that’s from day one.”

Here’s more on the Nets:

Marks is under contract beyond this season, sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv, and the veteran Nets executive has a close relationship with team owner Joe Tsai. Marks told reporters on Tuesday that he has been given no indication Tsai won’t keep him around to run the team’s latest head coaching search this spring. “Joe and I have always been in complete partnership,” Marks said, per Bontemps. “And it doesn’t mean we always agree. I mean, you have to have good discussions and robust discussions, but Joe and I will make this decision, and he has given me no reason to believe that I won’t be able to make that decision.”
Still, Marks’ future with the Nets has been a subject of speculation around the NBA, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype said on the HoopsHype podcast with Brian Lewis of The New York Post. According to Scotto, in the event that Marks remains in Brooklyn, one possibility floated in league circles is a scenario in which the Nets promote assistant general manager Jeff Peterson to GM and give him more day-to-day responsibilities while Marks stays above him in the front office hierarchy.
Scotto and Lewis discussed many more Nets-related topics in the HoopsHype podcast, including the futures of players like Nic Claxton, Cam Thomas, and Ben Simmons in Brooklyn, Scotto also said there were rumblings that certain players – including Mikal Bridges and former Net Spencer Dinwiddie – weren’t thrilled by the fact that Vaughn’s offensive game plan focused so heavily on Simmons, who hasn’t been healthy for most of his time in Brooklyn.
Bridges said on Tuesday that he wants to remain in Brooklyn long-term, per Dan Martin of The New York Post. “I’m here now and want to stay here,” Bridges said. “And I’m going to keep grinding and getting to wherever we’ve got to get to win, and that’s why I’m here for.” The Nets turned away trade inquiries this season on Bridges and their goal is to ultimately acquire a star or two to play alongside him, per Scotto.
In a pair of stories for The New York Post, Mike Vaccaro wonders what it will take for the Nets to move on from Marks, while Zach Braziller identifies several potential candidates for Brooklyn’s permanent head coaching job. That list begins with Mike Budenholzer, whose name is “at the tip of everyone’s tongue” in discussing possible candidates, according to Scotto.

And-Ones: Barton, All-Star Game, Buyout Market, More

February 20th, 2024 at 9:17am CST by Luke Adams

Will Barton, who reportedly reached an agreement with CSKA Moscow last month, will return stateside without having played for the Russian club, per an announcement from CSKA (Twitter link). Barton’s contract was terminated via an early exit clause.

An 11-year NBA veteran who appeared in 56 games last season for Washington and Toronto, Barton could be a candidate to return to the league down the stretch. However, Alessando Maggi of Sportando hears from sources that the wing’s departure from CSKA Moscow was related to failed medical tests. If that’s accurate, any NBA teams with interest in Barton will be sure to do its due diligence on his health situation.

CSKA Moscow indicated in its announcement that it remains on the lookout for a player who can help out at shooting guard and small forward.

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

Ten basketball writers for The Athletic shared their thoughts on how the NBA could improve its All-Star Game. Some of their ideas? Combining All-Star weekend and the in-season tournament final four into one event; turning the All-Star game into a two-on-two or three-on-three tournament; or simply naming All-Stars and not playing the game.
In an Insider-only article for ESPN, Bobby Marks and Kevin Pelton take a closer look at what sort of impact the NBA’s rule tweaks have had on the buyout market and consider which player will be the most impactful buyout-market addition this season. Of the veterans who have already found new homes, Pelton views Lakers guard Spencer Dinwiddie as the player capable of making the greatest impact.
Joe Vardon, Sam Amick, and David Aldridge of The Athletic polled several players at All-Star weekend on a variety of topics, including the best player and team in the NBA, whether the league has become too offense-heavy, and what rule changes they’d implement if they had Adam Silver‘s job for a day. The Celtics earned the most votes (five) for the NBA’s best team, with the Clippers (four) coming in second.

Lakers Notes: Dinwiddie, LeBron, Russell, Reaves, Injuries

February 13th, 2024 at 1:53pm CST by Luke Adams

After going through his first practice with the Lakers on Monday, veteran point guard Spencer Dinwiddie explained why he chose Los Angeles over the Mavericks when he became a free agent last week, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

“The two situations kind of felt like this: Let’s say you were a kid and you got your ass whupped by the bully,” Dinwiddie said. “Dallas would’ve been like your momma being like, ‘It’s OK, baby. Don’t worry about it.’ Lakers are like your dad: ‘Nah, you better go out there and fight ’til you win.’ You feel me? And I just felt like that was what I needed at the time. I’m a big believer in kind of doing what you need to do at whatever time it is.”

As McMenamin notes, Dinwiddie played for the Mavericks and head coach Jason Kidd from 2022-23, but has never played for his hometown Lakers or Darvin Ham, so that represented the more challenging, less familiar route for the 30-year-old. Dinwiddie added that Rob Pelinka was the first team executive to call him after he was waived by Toronto, which made a strong impression.

The veteran guard will be reuniting with a few former teammates in L.A., including D’Angelo Russell, Taurean Prince, Rui Hachimura, and Christian Wood. However, as McMenamin writes, Dinwiddie made it clear that none of those players were the most influential voice in his ear as he made the decision to join the Lakers.

“How the hell we going to give C-Wood the credit? Bro, what are we doing?” Dinwiddie said with a laugh. “Look, C-Wood was impactful. … (But) I’m giving the credit to Bron (LeBron James).”

Here’s more on Dinwiddie and the Lakers:

While Dinwiddie will slot in behind Russell and Austin Reaves‘ on the Lakers’ backcourt depth chart, Ham said he can envision using all three guards in certain lineups, perhaps even to close games, writes Jovan Buha of The Athletic. “All three of those guys can play together,” Ham said. “His size, he can guard bigger wings. So if we have to finish the game with those three, he’s definitely more than capable of doing that. We will look at some lineups with the three of those guys, along with Bron and AD. But I think he complements them well. He can defend, he can pass, he can dribble, he can shoot.”
Like he did in his previous contract, Dinwiddie negotiated a $1 incentive in his new deal that he’ll earn if the Lakers win the championship, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. His base salary will increase from $1,554,654 to $1,554,655 in that scenario. Dinwiddie told reporters that the $1 championship incentive has become something of inside joke between him and agent Jason Glushon (Twitter video link via McMenamin).
Cam Reddish (right ankle sprain), Max Christie (right ankle sprain), Jarred Vanderbilt (right mid-foot sprain), and Gabe Vincent (left knee surgery recovery) will all be reevaluated after the All-Star break, the Lakers said on Monday (Twitter link via Khobi Price of the Southern California News Group). Some of those players are closer to returning than others, with Vanderbilt’s status for the rest of the season notably still up in the air.

Pacific Notes: Kerr, Milojevic, Bridges, Allen, Dinwiddie

February 12th, 2024 at 11:11am CST by Arthur Hill

Warriors coach Steve Kerr will miss tonight’s game at Utah so he can attend the funeral of former assistant coach Dejan Milojevic in Serbia, writes Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Kenny Atkinson will run the team in Kerr’s absence. Assistant coaches Chris DeMarco and Ron Adams, general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. and basketball operations consultant Zaza Pachulia are also representing the team at the funeral.

Players admit there’s a surreal feeling to being back in Salt Lake City, where Milojevic suffered a heart attack at a team dinner following a January 16 game. He died in a hospital the following morning, and the team’s next two games were postponed. The Warriors welcomed members of Milojevic’s family to their practice facility on January 22, and his son, Nikola, spent time shooting and rebounding with Klay Thompson.

“Just to be able to tell him how much I loved his dad, all the great memories we built and made together, I just told him how grateful I am for his family and how proud of them he was,” Thompson said.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

The Suns were heavily rumored to be pursuing Hornets forward Miles Bridges, but general manager James Jones declined to confirm those trade talks, preferring to concentrate on the deals he actually made (video link from Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic). “We explored everything,” Jones said, “but at the end of the day, we’re talking about Royce O’Neale and David Roddy. Two guys I think are going to be exceptionally well for us, but yeah, we talked about a lot of guys.”
Jones also responded to a question about a potential extension with Grayson Allen this summer, indicating the Suns will be open to the possibility (video link from Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports). “We don’t want him to go anywhere, which is why he’s here,” Jones said. “There’s plenty of interest in Grayson Allen, but no one values him more than we do.”
Lakers players are excited to welcome Spencer Dinwiddie to the team, per Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. The former Nets guard, who signed with L.A. on Saturday, is expected to participate in today’s practice and be in uniform for Tuesday’s game against Detroit. “He’s a big guard, a shot-maker,” Anthony Davis said. “We’ve seen what he did with Brooklyn, what he did with Dallas, making big plays for them. He’s a well-established player, a vet in this league.”

Spencer Dinwiddie Signs With Lakers

February 10th, 2024 at 8:16pm CST by Tristan Tucker

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.

Lakers Rumors: Reaves, Summer Targets, Prince, Buyout Market, Vanderbilt

February 9th, 2024 at 2:44pm CST by Luke Adams

Despite making and taking trade calls for weeks, the Lakers didn’t come particularly close to making a deal on Thursday, sources tell Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the closest the Lakers ever get to reaching a trade agreement was several weeks ago when they discussed a deal with the Hawks that would’ve send Dejounte Murray to Los Angeles for a package centered around D’Angelo Russell, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and the Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick.

Atlanta’s resistance to taking Russell was long viewed as the primary holdup in those discussions, but Buha also hears from team and league sources that the Hawks repeatedly insisted on Austin Reaves‘ inclusion, which was a non-starter for Los Angeles.

Having not made a move at the deadline, the Lakers will have three first-round picks available to trade this offseason — either 2024 or 2025 (New Orleans can acquire this year’s pick or defer it to next year), plus 2029 and 2031. L.A. would ideally like to use their draft assets in a package to acquire a third star, Buha says, identifying Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers), Trae Young (Hawks), and Kyrie Irving (Mavericks) as some potential targets. It’s unclear how many of those players – if any – will actually be available on the trade market this offseason.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

The front office mulled the possibility of trading Taurean Prince, but head coach Darvin Ham was a among the “vocal supporters” of hanging onto the veteran forward, team sources tell Buha.
The Lakers were in position to potentially duck the luxury tax by attaching a minor asset (such as a second-round pick or cash) to a minimum-salary player, but opted against it, deciding they didn’t want to save money at the expense of roster depth, Buha writes.
Rob Pelinka indicated that the Lakers will be in the market for a “ball-handling guard” or simply the best available player on the buyout market, per Buha. “Obviously, we signed Gabe Vincent and thought he fit really well, but his health just hasn’t (been there),” Pelinka said. “He’s played five games. I think that would be sort of top of the list. … That would probably be the area we’re trying to address the most, just because right now we have D’Angelo Russell at point guard, but after that we don’t have a point guard on the roster.” Los Angeles has interest in Spencer Dinwiddie and Kyle Lowry (assuming he’s bought out), but will face competition from rival suitors, including Dallas on Dinwiddie and Philadelphia on Lowry, Buha observes.
There’s some pessimism within the organization about Jarred Vanderbilt‘s odds of returning this season, with the possibility of season-ending foot surgery still on the table, according to Buha. “Until an injury is healed and the player’s back, you’re kind of always in the evaluation process of figuring out what it’s gonna take to get a player healthy and back on the court,” Pelinka said. “I would just say we’re hopeful that we can get Jarred back healthy and on the court without surgery, but you never know. Time will tell. But that’s certainly our hope.”

Mavs Notes: Kuzma, Newcomers, Williams, Luka, Dinwiddie, Green

February 9th, 2024 at 12:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards came close to accepting a trade offer for forward Kyle Kuzma this week, team sources tell Josh Robbins of The Athletic. While those sources didn’t identify the team Washington was talking to, reporting from The Athletic suggests it was the Mavericks. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN also stated during The Woj Pod on Thursday (YouTube link) that Dallas was trying to get Kuzma from Washington earlier in the week.

The Wizards were seeking a “home-run” return for Kuzma rather than simply a fair offer, according to Robbins, so the Mavericks shifted their focus and ultimately came away with P.J. Washington from the Hornets in addition to Daniel Gafford in a separate deal with Washington.

The trade with Charlotte sent out Grant Williams, whom the Mavericks signed to a fully guaranteed four-year, $53MM contract in a sign-and-trade last summer, giving up unprotected swap rights to their 2030 first-round pick as part of that transaction.

While Thursday’s deals improved their roster, making that sort of investment in Williams, only to trade him several months later after his value had declined, represents a “massive whiff” for the Mavs, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN. MacMahon stated on the latest episode of the Hoop Collective podcast that there were “personality clashes” involving Williams in Dallas and that the Mavs seemed “determined” to move him.

“He rubbed a lot of people the wrong way,” MacMahon said.

Here’s more on the Mavs:

Luka Doncic was “very enthusiastic” about the idea of the Mavs acquiring Washington, according to Wojnarowski, who suggests that was likely one factor motivating Dallas to get the deal across the finish line.
The Mavericks have an open spot on their 15-man roster and general manager Nico Harrison indicated on Thursday they’ll continue exploring ways to upgrade the roster, including on the buyout market, tweets Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. According to Townsend (Twitter link), the belief within the organization about Dallas’ odds of landing Spencer Dinwiddie, who sat near the Mavs’ bench during Thursday’s game in New York, ranges from “cautious optimism to confident.”
Tim Cato of The Athletic explores how Washington and Gafford will fit in Dallas, pointing out that – since both players are still just 25 years old and are under contract for multiple seasons beyond this one – their value as trade assets should remain strong if the Mavs decide to move them down the road.
Confirming previous reporting, Cato cites league sources who say the Hornets had initially been unwilling to trade Washington to the Mavericks without getting Josh Green back, but relented on that stance in the final hours leading up to the deadline.
Sam Vecenie of The Athletic also assesses the Mavericks’ two deadline deals, expressing some reservations about the move for Washington but dubbing the Gafford acquisition a major win.

Raptors Notes: Deadline, Brown, Olynyk, Agbaji, Trent, Dinwiddie, Barnes

February 9th, 2024 at 8:25am CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors made a pair of deals on deadline day, but they did their most significant work on the trade market earlier in the season when they sent OG Anunoby to New York and Pascal Siakam to Indiana. In the view of general manager Bobby Webster, Thursday’s moves were more about balancing the roster a little and preparing for the offseason, as Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca relays.

“We did our heavy lifting about a month ago,” Webster said. “So I feel like this trade deadline we cleaned up a lot of things and we addressed some of the things we talked about after the OG and Pascal trades.”

The new-look Raptors currently have an 18-33 record, the sixth-worst mark in the league. A poor finish to the season could put them in position to hang onto their own 2024 first-round pick, which will be sent to San Antonio if it doesn’t land in the top six.

However, as Webster pointed out on Thursday, the NBA’s lottery system offers no assurances – the sixth-worst team is more likely to end up in the No. 7-9 range than to pick in the top six – so there will be no effort to game the system down the stretch. Toronto’s focus will be on developing young talent and getting the new core players familiar with one another.

“We’re going to prioritize seeing this group play,” Webster said. “If it ends up that we’re in the top six, sure. But especially with the way the new NBA rules are, to try to game that doesn’t make a ton of sense. At the end of the day, it’s going to [come down to] the lottery balls. I think the big priority for us is playing that young group together, getting (2023 lottery pick) Gradey (Dick) in there with that group, seeing how they fit together because that will give us a lot more information about how to build this team and what moves to make this summer.”

Here’s more on the Raptors:

Toronto was seeking a first-round pick beyond 2024 for Bruce Brown and didn’t want to take back multiyear money, according to Lewenberg. With no team willing to meet that asking price, the Raptors hung onto the veteran wing, whose deal includes a $23MM team option for next season. “Had we gotten the offers we wanted for Bruce we would’ve done something,” Webster said (Twitter link). “At the same time, Bruce is 27, he has a really interesting contract, he provides a professionalism and toughness that we value, and there’s options with Bruce this summer.”
The Raptors will look to sign newly acquired big man Kelly Olynyk to a new contract and keep him beyond the current season, sources tell Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. Webster said on Thursday that Olynyk wants to be in his hometown of Toronto, per Eric Koreen of The Athletic. “We’ve been big fans of Kelly,” Webster said. “I think the way we view him specifically is he’s a steady hand and I think we’ve seen it with the bench units, especially with the bigs, he’s going to provide a skill set of veteran presence, a voice that we think that unit could use some help with.”
Reiterating that the Raptors never intended to use all the 2024 draft picks they controlled, Webster suggested the team was happy to use one of those lesser assets to acquire Olynyk and to add a young player in Ochai Agbaji, tweets Lewenberg. Webster described Agbaji as a “hard-working, high-character” player with “a lot of upside.”
Gary Trent Jr., who is on an expiring contact, remained with the Raptors through the trade deadline. Webster said the plans for Trent are “a little TBD” and that the team is looking forward to evaluating him down the stretch (Twitter link via Lewenberg).
The decision to waive Spencer Dinwiddie after acquiring him from Brooklyn means that Scottie Barnes will get more point guard reps the rest of the way, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Murphy adds that Toronto intends to fill its two open 15-man roster spots and will consider all avenues, including prospects from the G League and overseas.
In a story for Sportsnet.ca, Murphy explores how the Raptors’ latest in-season trades alter their salary cap outlook going forward.

Buyout Rumors: Tucker, Lowry, Dinwiddie, Harris

February 8th, 2024 at 5:40pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Clippers forward P.J. Tucker is not requesting a buyout and is expected to remain with the team through the remainder of the season, according to TNT and Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes (Twitter link). This comes after trade attempts involving Tucker fell short, Haynes adds. This was the expected outcome if Tucker wasn’t moved at the deadline.

It’s no secret Tucker wasn’t thrilled with his role after landing with the Clippers in the James Harden trade at the beginning of the season. After starting in all 78 of his appearances with the Sixers after signing there in 2022, Tucker has only played in just 12 games with Los Angeles. averaging 14.4 minutes per game.

“I want to be somewhere where I’m needed, wanted and can do it all. I don’t know what’s going to happen but I have my fingers crossed and I’m hoping to go somewhere else whether I get bought out and choose where I go or where I can play,” Tucker said before the deadline to Andscape’s Marc J. Spears (Twitter link).

Tucker was once seen as a “strong” candidate to be moved before the deadline, but the fact that he has an $11.5MM player option for next season appears to have been an issue for opposing teams. The most likely step forward for both sides is Tucker accepting his player option in the offseason and then the two sides working together to find a deal that suits him when teams have a clearer idea of their 2024/25 plans.

For what it’s worth, Tucker seemingly expressed frustration at the situation in an Instagram story following the deadline, with the story reading “All this s— is a f—ing joke” (Instagram link).

We have more rumors regarding the buyout market:

Hornets point guard Kyle Lowry is the Sixers‘ top priority on the market if he and Charlotte come to terms on a buyout agreement, according to NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link). The Sixers have been making moves all day to clear salary (Danuel House) and playing time (Jaden Springer, Patrick Beverley) in the guard room, so Lowry is a sensible addition.
The Lakers, Mavericks, Pelicans and Sixers are expected to have interest in Spencer Dinwiddie after he was waived by the Raptors earlier Thursday, The Athletic’s Shams Charania said on Stadium’s live trade deadline show (hat tip to RealGM). Dinwiddie is ineligible to sign with the Celtics, Nuggets, Warriors, Clippers, Heat, Bucks and Suns, whose team salaries are above the tax apron, so that list of four interested teams includes some of the top playoff contenders available for Dinwiddie to sign with. He averaged 12.6 points and 6.0 assists in 48 games (all starts) with the Nets this season.
The Lakers are indeed among the frontrunners to sign Dinwiddie, confirms ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter link). Los Angeles is a good position to land the 6’5″ guard, because the Lakers are able to offer around $1.5MM prorated because they didn’t give Gabe Vincent the full mid-level exception in the offseason, McMenamin adds (Twitter link). Other teams are only able to offer around $1MM.
The Bulls stood pat at the trade deadline and are likely to make moves to supplement a potential playoff push, according to NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson. Former Pistons sharpshooter Joe Harris could be a target for Chicago on the buyout market after he was waived by Detroit. Johnson adds the Bulls tried to acquire Bojan Bogdanovic from Detroit.

Raptors Trade Dennis Schröder, Thaddeus Young To Nets

February 8th, 2024 at 2:56pm CST by Rory Maher

2:56pm: The trade is official, according to announcements from both the Raptors and Nets. As we outlined in separate stories, Brooklyn waived Harry Giles to complete the deal, while Toronto immediately released Dinwiddie.

11:47am: The Raptors and Nets have agreed to a trade, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (Twitter links) that guard Dennis Schröder and forward Thaddeus Young will be heading to Brooklyn, while guard Spencer Dinwiddie is being sent to Toronto.

A free agent addition in the offseason, Schröder is making $12.4MM this season and has a $13MM cap hit for 2024/25. Young ($8MM) and Dinwiddie ($20.36MM) are both on expiring contracts. Dinwiddie will earn a $1.5MM bonus if he appears in two more games this season, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), while Dinwiddie didn’t formally request a trade out of Brooklyn, both he and the Nets are happy he’s headed out of town.

The Nets can acquire Schröder using their $18.1MM traded player exception, which would have expired tomorrow, observes cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link). They’ll create a new TPE worth $20.36MM — Dinwiddie’s outgoing cap hit — and it will be good until February 8, 2025.

It’s essentially a salary dump for the Raptors, since moving off Schröder’s salary for next season will give Toronto more financial flexibility to re-sign its own impending free agents. Guard Immanuel Quickley (restricted) and newly-acquired big man Kelly Olynyk (unrestricted) fall into that category.

Schröder has had a solid season, averaging 13.7 PPG, 6.1 APG and 2.7 RPG on .442/.350/.852 shooting in 51 games (30.6 MPG), including 33 starts. But the 30-year-old was clearly was no longer in Toronto’s long-term plans, particularly after acquiring Quickley from New York in a previous in-season trade.

As for Young, the longtime veteran forward was valued for his locker room presence and production when called upon. However, he’s 35 years old and doesn’t fit the Raptors’ timeline. This will be Young’s second stint with the Nets, having previously played for Brooklyn from 2015-16.

Dinwiddie, 30, has averaged 12.6 PPG, 6.0 APG and 3.0 RPG in 48 games (30.7 MPG) this season, but has struggled with efficiency (.391/.320/.781 shooting line, .530 true shooting), and isn’t a great defender. It’s unclear how much of a role he’ll have with the Raptors, but it’s worth noting that Dinwiddie has performed well as a secondary and tertiary creator in the past.

Schröder will be a major upgrade for the Nets on the defensive end, and they won’t have to worry about losing him for nothing in free agency, since he’ll be under contract until 2025.

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