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Spencer Dinwiddie Looking at 'Generational Money' in Free Agency, Nets GM Says
July 30, 2021
Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks said Friday point guard Spencer Dinwiddie is likely to garner significant financial offers as a free agent during the 2021 NBA offseason, which clouds his future with the organization.
"He deserves the right to be a free agent," Marks told reporters. "I can't tell you what his market's gonna be. I can hypothetically take a stab at it, but the good thing for him, he's likely in line for generational money."
Dinwiddie made just three appearances during the 2020-21 season before suffering a partially torn ACL, which caused him to miss the remainder of the campaign.
The injury prevented the 28-year-old from building off his breakout 2019-20 season, during which he averaged career highs in points (20.6), assists (6.8) and rebounds (3.5).
His future with the Nets became a serious question in January when the front office made a blockbuster trade to acquire James Harden from the Houston Rockets. Harden joined Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant to fill out the team's starting lineup in the backcourt and on the wing.
Brooklyn also has Joe Harris as a sharpshooter off the bench and Landry Shamet as a backup point guard, so its offseason financial resources will likely be spent on upgrading its frontcourt rather than adding another guard to the mix.
As Marks suggested, Dinwiddie shouldn't have much trouble generating interest as a free agent.
The University of Colorado product said on The Crossover podcast (via CBS Sports' Michael Kaskey-Blomain) in early July he wasn't ruling out a return to the Nets but also that he wasn't planning to take a significantly smaller contract to make it work:
"But the Nets have the ability to do something that other people can't. If they come to the table like that, and they're being aggressive and are saying, 'Hey, we got five [years], $125 [million] for you,' I would say there's a high likelihood that I go back to the Nets, you know what I mean? But if they don't come to the table like that, and they're like 'Oh, we're going to give you a three [years] for $60 [million],' well, anybody can do that."
Blue Wire's Quinton Mayo reported Dinwiddie has "expressed interest" in joining the Washington Wizards to form a backcourt tandem with Bradley Beal.
In many cases, including a potential agreement with Washington, the interested team will need to use the Nets to create a sign-and-trade deal to make the Dinwiddie acquisition financially viable, so Brooklyn may still net an asset or two despite losing an impact player.