Spencer Dinwiddie Explains Why He Chose the Lakers Over the Mavericks

Feb 12, 2024, 9:00 PM ET

Dinwiddie had the option of playing for the Mavericks, but he opted for the Lakers because, he said, “they know how to win.”

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — After completing your first practice with the Los Angeles Lakers this Monday, Spencer Dinwiddie He left the court and explained to a crowd of reporters why he chose to come to Los Angeles instead of the Dallas Mavericks after being traded by the Toronto Raptors, and subsequently being let go last week.

Lakers manager Rob Pelinka (left) and Spencer Dinwiddie. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

“Both situations felt like this: Let’s say you were a kid and the bully hit your butt,” Dinwiddie said. “Dallas would have been like your mom said, ‘It’s okay, baby.’. Don’t worry about that’. The Lakers are like your father: ‘No, you better go out and fight until you win.’ You understand me? And I felt like that was what I needed at that moment.

“I’m a big believer in doing what needs to be done at any time.”

Dinwiddie was traded from the Brooklyn Nets to Toronto at the deadline, resigned and then cleared waivers Saturday afternoon, opening the door for sign for the remaining $1.55 million of the Lakers’ non-tax mid-level exception for the remainder of the season.

Returning to Dallas would have been the path of least resistance. He was traded there in February 2022 and helped the team reach the Western Conference finals, teaming with star Luka Doncic and coach Jason Kidd to defeat the Phoenix Sunstop seeds, in the second round by scoring 30 points in Game 7 on Phoenix’s home court.

Coming to the Lakers with a coach like Darvin Ham, who he never played for, a star like LeBron James, 39, who is trying to orchestrate another run to the Finals and a fan base that is not satisfied with anything other than a championship It’s more of a pressure cooker.

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Add the fact that, As a Los Angeles native, you will have personal expectations of performing for the local team he grew up rooting for, and it’s abundantly clear that nothing about this career decision for the 10-year veteran will go unnoticed.

And he’s more than okay with that.

“You’re basically looking at a team that, when everything is on the line, can reach a level that no other team can reach,” Dinwiddie added. “They won the season tournament, they’ve played great basketball the last few years. Obviously, sometimes it’s hard to maintain that throughout the season, but at the end of the day, they know how to win. That’s what you know. “Every night they’re going to get the best shot at someone just because of the name on the front of the uniform.”

Dinwiddie attended the Lakers’ victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday and sat down with Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka, during the game. He said Pelinka made a strong impression on him by making the first phone call he received after Toronto fired him and that the vibe of him feeling good being around the Lakers helped him make his decision. .

However, it was not until Dinwiddie’s son, Elijah was able to try on his father’s gold number 26 uniformmade especially for him in children’s size by the Lakers, when Dinwiddie first visited the practice facility on Sunday, everything was set for him.

“He had put (the shirt) on and was running down the hallway and I was behind him and I was watching ‘Dinwiddie 26’ and I thought, ‘Oh damn.’ Like, ‘It’s real,'” Dinwiddie confessed. “And for your son to be the reason you feel like it’s real, it was a really special moment.”

Dinwiddie will be available to play against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday and Ham, who spent Sunday conducting a one-on-one video session with the 6-6 combo guard and teaching him the basic terminology Los Angeles uses on its plays, made it clear that he will play him right away. Especially cConsidering Max Christie (right ankle), Gabe Vincent (left knee), Cam Reddish (left knee) and Jarred Vanderbilt (right foot) are out at least until after the All-Star break, according to the team.

“He will acclimatize very, very well, very soon”Ham said. “I just told him, ‘Don’t worry about making mistakes.’ We’ll help him get through it.”

While Dinwiddie has no experience playing with the Lakers, he does have pre-existing ties to several members of the team. He was on the Brooklyn Nets with D’Angelo Russell, Taurean Prince and assistant coach Jordan Ott, played for the Washington Wizards under Rui Hachimura and played with Christian Wood on the Mavericks.

But he made it clear that Wood was not the most influential voice he heard when he chose Los Angeles.

“How the hell are we going to give credit to C-Wood? Bro, what are we doing?” Dinwiddie finished, laughing. “Look, C-Wood was shocking… I give credit to Bron.”

2024-02-13 02:00:00
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