On Friday night, Spencer Dinwiddie sat next to Lakers GM Rob Pelinka and watched Los Angeles beat New Orleans. He will soon wear the Lakers' purple and gold jersey on the court for these games.
Dinwiddie was traded from Brooklyn to Toronto at the deadline in a deal involving Dennis Schroder.In a cold business move, the Raptors immediately waived Dinwiddie, who forfeited two games of his $1.5 million contract bonus for games played; the Raptors didn't want to pay it, so they released him. Dinwiddie met with the Dallas Mavericks (who could have offered a little more money) but chose Los Angeles. The Lakers can only offer a veteran minimum contract.
The Lakers are getting the best player available on the buyout market, and Pelinka had said Thursday night that he hoped to sign a "ball dominator" on the buyout market after the deadline.
He got it, even if it won't move the needle that much for Los Angeles.
LeBron James remains the Lakers' primary ball dominator (as he should be), with Dinwiddie slotting in between secondary ball dominators D'Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves.The Lakers had hoped the offseason signing of Gabe Vincent would be in the mix, but injuries have limited him to five games this season. With Cam Reddish and Max Christie also battling injuries (Christie rolled his ankle against Denver on Thursday night), Dinwiddie has minutes left.
But Dinwiddie doesn't bring the Lakers the two things they need, defense or shooting. Dinwiddie is shooting 32% from three this season and 33.1% from behind the arc for his career and is not a good defender.
However, he is an upgrade to the Lakers roster. With the Lakers sitting ninth in the West and aiming to climb higher in the preseason preseason mix, this is a good development.
