Nets Trade Rumors: Spencer Dinwiddie Being Shopped Ahead of 2021 Deadline

The Brooklyn Nets are reportedly "shopping" guard Spencer Dinwiddie ahead of the 2021 NBA trade deadline on March 25.

ESPN's Marc J. Spears reported Thursday on The Jump that Dinwiddie, who's expected to miss the remainder of the 2020-21 season with a partially torn ACL, is viewed as a "valuable piece" for the future.

Dinwiddie made a major impact for Brooklyn last season, averaging 20.6 points, 6.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.9 threes across 64 appearances while often serving as the team's go-to scorer with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving sidelined by injuries.

The 27-year-old Los Angeles native played only three games during the current campaign before suffering the knee injury, but his role was significantly reduced as his minutes dropped, and he didn't reach double figures in scoring in any of the contests.

That was before the Nets acquired James Harden from the Houston Rockets in mid-January. With Harden, Durant and Irving all under contract for next season, there isn't a path to a key role for Dinwiddie, which makes moving him for an instant-impact asset an option for the front office.

His contract situation throws a wrench into any trade possibilities, though.

Dinwiddie can use a player option to opt out of his three-year, $34.4 million deal after this season, and Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported the University of Colorado product is "unlikely to agree to an extension" with an eye toward free agency.

While there could still be interested teams based on the expiring contract, that type of trade wouldn't bring the same type of return the Nets likely could have received in the offseason when he was fresh off a breakout season with a full year left on his deal.

Brooklyn may still try to move him over the next month, possibly in a deal for a much-needed veteran wing defender, but it's a more complicated situation than it looks on the surface.

The Nets, who've won eight straight games to climb into second in the East with a 22-12 record, are back in action Saturday night when they host Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks (15-16).