After he was in attendance at Friday night’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans, it was reported that veteran guard Spencer Dinwiddie plans to the sign with the Los Angeles Lakers once he clears waivers on Saturday afternoon.
Dinwiddie provides a bench guard and another ball-handler behind LeBron James and D’Angelo Russell while being yet another offensive weapon behind a plethora of scorers.
The Lakers end up with Dinwiddie on the buyout market after rumors existed of a trade between L.A. and the Brooklyn Nets that would have sent Russell back to his former team yet again. Now, the Lakers have both players and can allow Dinwiddie to run the bench unit while Gabe Vincent continues to recover from knee surgery.
Dinwiddie brings a necessary skillset with him to the Lakers, and James described exactly what it is that he does that will help L.A.
“Playmaking, another ball handler, another shot-maker,” James said. “Another guy, another veteran. Anytime you can add a veteran with that ability, it helps.”
Instead of focusing on specific skillsets, Anthony Davis chose to discuss Dinwiddie’s archetype and why he could be helpful for the Lakers the rest of the way.
“He’s a big guard. Shotmaker, playmaker, obviously we’ve seen what he did in Brooklyn, Dallas, making big plays for them. He’s a well established player and vet in this league,” Davis said.
Russell — who has the best personal relationship with Dinwiddie of anyone on the Lakers — didn’t want to give too much away about what makes the veteran guard so great.
“I’m a fan. Y’all will get to know him soon. I’ll let y’all dig into that,” Russell said.
The Dinwiddie signing is a low-risk and potentially high-reward add for the Lakers. At worst, Dinwiddie won’t play much especially once Vincent is healthy enough to return to the lineup. At best, the Lakers have a legitimate scoring a playmaking threat off the bench.
It seems as though the stars are excited about what he can bring to the Lakers and the impact he can make.
Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell in a great rhythm offensively
With Dinwiddie in attendance, Russell dropped 30 points on the Pelicans, including a personal 14-point run in the second quarter that saw him hit four consecutive 3-pointers. He spoke about the great rhythm that he’s in and how the unselfishness of his teammates has allowed him to get red hot at this point of the season.
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