Spencer Dinwiddie rips Nets for attempting to sabotage his career after messy exit
12/19/2024 10:34 PM
Spencer Dinwiddie’s second exit from the Brooklyn Nets was messy behind the scenes. The veteran point guard told his side of the story this week, accusing the team of pressuring him into a pass-first role to boost their other players, then trading him and trashing his reputation.
"I understand Brooklyn was going to make the best decision they could for their organization," Dinwiddie said on ex-Nets teammate Theo Pinson’s podcast. "To go back to a team that you spent five years, had a lot of success at, basically lead the league in assists because they asked you to kind of help feature their trade pieces and whatnot, and then basically [get] kicked out the door. And for them to re-bring up the cancer label because of what happened in D.C., if another team doubles down on that, it effectively kills your career."
The Nets re-acquired Dinwiddie, who spent five successful seasons with the team from 2016-2021, from the Dallas Mavericks at the 2023 trade deadline in a package for Kyrie Irving.
Spencer Dinwiddie rips Nets for messy exit after second stint with team
After re-joining Brooklyn, he ranked fifth in the league in assists at 9.1 per game over 26 appearances to close the 2022-23 season.
Mikal Bridges, who also joined the team at the 2023 deadline as the centerpiece of Brooklyn’s return for Kevin Durant, turned in a career-best stretch alongside Dinwiddie during that period. The Villanova product averaged a career-high 27.7 points per game on 47/38/89 shooting splits, a performance that led to speculation about whether he could be a top offensive option on a contender.
Dinwiddie said that helping feature Bridges was his primary assignment. The 31-year-old appeared increasingly discontent with that role during the first half of 2023-24, culminating in a trade to the Toronto Raptors for Dennis Schroder at the deadline, after which he was bought out. He claims Brooklyn attempted to sabotage his career following the deal by confirming locker room issues he had during his messy exit from the Washington Wizards.
"You took me from my [sons in Dallas], basically. And then you asked me to do a very specific task, and I did it. 'We need to stay in the playoffs, and you need to help feature our trade pieces,'" Dinwiddie said of Brooklyn’s message. "Ok, I will do what you ask of me. And then the reward that they gave me was, we're going to kick you out the door. And, not just that, we're going to double down on some s**t that happened to you from three years ago. Because if we say it and it's from three years ago, your career is over.
“So you can extrapolate and guess the conversations or anything else that happened, and blah, blah. And it’s not to get into all those details, whatever. But effectively, that's what happened.”
Dinwiddie signed with the Lakers to close the 2023-24 season. After the disappointing campaign, he re-joined the Dallas Mavericks on a minimum contract this summer. He’s embraced a reserve role this season, averaging 7.8 points and 3.1 assists on 40/38/87 shooting splits in 21.4 minutes per game.
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