Lakers News: Spencer Dinwiddie Signs Contract with LA amid Mavericks Rumors

After sitting next to Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka during Friday's game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Spencer Dinwiddie is staying in southern California. The Lakers announced the guard had signed a contract on Saturday night.

Shams Charania and Jovan Buha of The Athletic first reported Dinwiddie plans to sign with the Lakers on a $1.5 million deal for the rest of the season once he clears waivers.

Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times reported on Friday that Dinwiddie was believed to be choosing between the Lakers and Dallas Mavericks.

Dinwiddie was waived by the Toronto Raptors, who acquired him from the Brooklyn Nets for Dennis Schröder and Thaddeus Young ahead of the NBA trade deadline on Thursday.

The Lakers seemed very confident in their ability to land Dinwiddie, even beyond the fact he was sitting with Pelinka.

D'Angelo Russell told reporters in Los Angeles they would "get to know [Dinwiddie] soon." Russell and Dinwiddie were teammates for two seasons with the Brooklyn Nets from 2017 to '19.

The Mavericks could have made a compelling case to Dinwiddie. He played for them from February 2022 to February 2023 before being traded to the Nets in the Kyrie Irving deal. The 30-year-old averaged 17.1 points on 40.4 percent three-point shooting in 76 games during that stretch.

Instead, Dinwiddie will join a Lakers team that is chasing Dallas in the Western Conference standings. The hope will be that he can improve their shooting, though that efficiency hasn't been a strength for him outside of those 12 months with the Mavs.

Dinwiddie shot 32.0 percent from three-point range in 48 starts with the Nets this season. He has a 33.1 percent success rate from behind the arc in 514 career games.

If Dinwiddie needs to play with an elite passer who commands a lot of attention from the defense to be at his best as a shooter, it's hard to do better than playing on a team with LeBron James.

The Lakers will hope Dinwiddie can elevate their offensive output and get them out of the play-in mix. Their 28-26 record is ninth in the Western Conference, two games behind the Mavs at No. 8. They are 3.5 games behind the Sacramento Kings for the sixth seed.