Nets SG Spencer Dinwiddie is doing what many expected him to do, declining his $12.3 million player option for the 2021-22 season to become a free agent, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Dinwiddie recently told Forbes that he intended to decline the option.
Before the NBA trade deadline, teams were engaged with the Nets to see if they’d be willing to trade Dinwiddie. He was injured basically all season after tearing his ACL, but his scoring ability – especially off the bench – is a coveted skill that made him popular in the trade mill.
Now it will be interesting to see what the Nets do with Dinwiddie. SNY’s Ian Begley said teams believe that Dinwiddie would be willing to sign with the Knicks considering their need for a sharpshooter and having ample cap space to get one.
Brooklyn, on the other hand, has other priorities – do the Big 3 get an extension? – so Dinwiddie might hurt the bank in terms of the luxury tax.
Dinwiddie has played five seasons with the Nets, averaging 14.3 points, 5.3 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game. When he was put into a starting role during the 2019-20 season, Dinwiddie averaged 20.6 points per game, the highest total of his career.