TORONTO — Spencer Dinwiddie took some shots against the Nets, not only using him to supplement other players his former team wanted to trade, but also risking his career in releasing him. accused of interfering.
“I understand that Brooklyn is trying to make the best decision for the organization,” Dinwiddie said on a podcast with former Nets teammate Theo Pinson.
“Coming back to a team that you spent five years with and had a lot of success with, you know, being asked to help out with features like trade pieces, basically leading the league in assists, and basically getting in the door.” And for them to put the gun label on him again because of what happened in Washington, D.C., would effectively ruin his career if other teams doubled down on it.”
Nets GM Sean Marks did not publicly or privately criticize Dinwiddie after being asked for comment on the accusations.
Dinwiddie, currently on a veteran minimum contract with Dallas, was reacquired from Dallas in February 2023 despite reservations about how his first stint in Brooklyn ended. He explained how he agreed to do everything the team asked.
And he claims the reward for doing so was the backchannel rumors about him that were spread around the league.
“You took me from me [sons]fundamentally. And you asked me to do a very specific task, so I did it. “We need to stay in the playoffs. Please help us pick up our trade items,” Dinwiddie said, without specifically mentioning those items. “Okay, I’ll do what you ask, and the reward they gave me was to throw you out the door.
“And not only that, but let's dig deeper into some things that happened to you three years ago, because if that happened three years ago, your career is over. So you can speculate and speculate about the conversation and other things that happened, but, well, let's not go into all the details. But that's what happened. ”
There's a lot to unpack there.
One is that the Nets' tank might have started earlier than expected if the priority had been increasing the value of Mikal Bridges (along with Dinwiddie, the only starter to have since moved on).
Marks plucked Dinwiddie from the G League in 2016 and consistently praised his rise to become a promising starter.
Dinwiddie left for Washington in a sign-and-trade in 2021, but his divorce with the Wizards was ugly, with several players criticizing him.
Dinwiddie was traded to the Mavericks in 2022 and played a big role in their run to the Western Conference Finals before the Nets re-acquired him in exchange for Kyrie Irving.
His second stint was not as successful as his first.
“So when people ask why a situation can cause a person to be extremely hurt, [this is how]” Dinwiddie said. “Everything was new, so there's all these apologies and things, and they say, 'Hey, all you have to do is do these two things, I get it.'
“And I said, 'Listen, guys, do you remember what happened the first time?' The first time was rocky. Just don't do that. I'm 30 years old. Stop it. Please.'' “Yes, no, I understand.'' I said, “Okay…you promised. I'll do whatever I can.'' ”
From Dinwiddie's debut on February 9 to the end of that season, his 236 assists were second in the NBA.
He helped rebuild Bridges by limiting his scoring, and Bridges went on a tear at the end of the season, raising his profile.
But in February, a dissatisfied Dinwiddie was traded to Toronto at the trade deadline in exchange for Dennis Schroder (Schroder essentially only gave the Nets two second-round picks and Reece Beekman). On the other hand, he was waived).
Bridges received an NBA record-tying five first-round picks this summer.
“To be honest, it's at an extreme level at this point.” [of] In a way, it's sad,” Dinwiddie said. “Because you didn't have to do that. There was no reason for you to do that.”
