June 29, 2018

Spencer Dinwiddie
PG - 6’6, 200lbs - 25 years old - 4 years of experience

Were it not for Indiana’s Darren Collison, Dinwiddie would have had the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the league. And were it not for Indiana’s Victor Oladipo, Dinwiddie may have been the 2018 Most Improved Player.

This was an excellent season for Dinwiddie, who started it on the fringes of the league and ended it on the fringes of an award. Completely unflashy, Dinwiddie was an incredibly solid lead guard all season, making shots, working the halfcourt, taking and making big shots, and being permanently reassuring whenever he was on the court. Doing it with changes of speed, IQ, savviness and subtlety rather than any great explosion and athleticism, Dinwiddie played with few weaknesses and a steadiness belying his relative inexperience. If there is a roster crunch at the lead guard spot now, it is because he earned his way into it.

Dinwiddie now needs to score better. He eschewed the mid-range in favour of threes and lay-ups, which is a good idea for any player to do unless they happen to have crafted a particularly good affinity and CV from the mid-range, yet work is needed at finishing from both. The Nets in particular are determined to build around the three-point shot, whereas Dinwiddie currently isn’t - considering the roster crunch, his potentially sub-optimal long term fit and his contractual situation (a big payday is coming soon) may precipitate him being traded away for future assets. He has played well enough to yield them.

But if he can shoot better? A Darren Collison career could be forthcoming. Which means so could Darren Collison money.

Player Plan: One unguaranteed minimum salary season remaining. Keep him on that, obviously, and consider trade possibilities. This may be as high as his value ever gets. To retain it going forward, he will need to be extended, but that will not be cheap to do after the season he just had. Dinwiddie, supposedly, turned down a three year, $18 million extension. And so he should have done.

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June 29, 2017

Spencer Dinwiddie
PG/SG, 6’6, 220lbs, 24 years old, 3 years of experience

A worthy late pick-up in which he had a couple of big offensive games while particularly asserting himself on defence, using his size and length to exert pressure on the pick-and-roll. Dinwiddie was measured, under-stood his role (to defend both guard spots, to move the ball around, to not turn it over, probe, attack when given a clearish lane, and occasionally stick a jump shot), and did it well. Amongst those who played more than 1,000 minutes, Dinwiddie was first in offensive rating by a long way. Good performance.

Player Plan: Two unguaranteed minimum salary seasons remaining. Keep.

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