The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t make a move at the trade deadline, but they added arguably the best player on the buyout market in point guard Spencer Dinwiddie. A 10-year veteran with playoff experience, Dinwiddie can provide a lot of things the Lakers have been missing this season.
Dinwiddie has played many roles throughout his career in his different stops with the Brooklyn Nets and Dallas Mavericks, among others. But in terms of what he will bring to the Lakers, he understands his role will be about attacking the basket offensively and playing good defense.
“Get downhill, provide rim pressure, point of attack defense and also wing defense depending on the lineup, there’s switchability there,” Dinwiddie said when asked what his role will be. “Just come in and be aggressive, set a ton and play with high IQ. In this situation, it’s more about plugging in than dominating or something, so that’s the mentality.”
At 6’5″, Dinwiddie has the size and length to be able to guard multiple positions, which is undoubtedly something head coach Darvin Ham likes. But this Lakers team also needs shooting and Dinwiddie believes he can provide that as well.
The guard noted his time spent playing with Luka Doncic in Dallas helped him to thrive in catch-and-shoot opportunities. And now playing off of LeBron James and Anthony Davis should provide him some of those same looks.
“Obviously I get to play with arguably the greatest player of all time and if I’m in that position to catch and shoot open shots, I’ll knock them down as I have throughout my career,” Dinwiddie added. “So that will definitely help me.
“The thing that I haven’t done well in my career is shoot off the dribble, contested, poor shot quality 3s. In some situations, I’ve been forced to do some other that at a higher percentage than good looks. So it affected the overall percentage and sometimes it becomes a misnomer. So the better quality looks, I have the utmost confidence in being a big shotmaker for this team.”
The open looks will definitely be there and to his point, while his overall 3-point percentage was 36.9% last season, he knocked down 41.7% of his catch-and-shoot opportunities.
But Dinwiddie can also create for his teammates and even though the Lakers already have LeBron, D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves who can all be primary ball-handlers, Dinwiddie is ready to take on that task when called on as well.
“Low turnover guy, pretty good with the assists and whatnot. Obviously if somebody is open, I’m gonna try to find them,” Dinwiddie noted. “When I’m playing basketball, I’m trying to look for the best play available for the first 16 seconds of the shot clock and then when it gets under eight, all bets are off. Obviously we always hope to have a good shot and a good possession so if that involves me passing then I’m more than willing to do so.”
There are a lot of ways in which Dinwiddie can help the Lakers. Whether it’s shooting, defense or playmaking, the Lakers are excited for what he will bring to this team.
Spencer Dinwiddie explains why he signed with Lakers over Mavericks
Of course Dinwiddie had a number of options to choose from once he cleared waivers with the other team being greatly considered being the Mavericks. But Dinwiddie ultimately chose to join the Lakers and he explained his decision.
“A lot of things. I think one of the things that was definitely on my radar was the fact that Rob was the first called,” Dinwiddie said. “I think that mattered. Obviously I have a history in Dallas and there were some other teams that inquired as well other than those two.
“But looking at the team setup and potentially being able to come in and make an impact and help this team win a championship, being home is obviously a dream come true. There’s a lot that goes into it but really having a chance to help the team win and like I said, play with some special players.”
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