Spencer Dinwiddie transformed from an afterthought during his first couple of years in the NBA, to a mediocre back-up point guard in his first two seasons with the Brooklyn Nets, to now all of a sudden the primary option on offense for a shorthanded Nets squad.
Dinwiddie's rise has been nothing short of magical, but it is this very same growth that has now posed one of the biggest questions in his young career thus far: what does the future hold for him in Brooklyn once both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant return?
The argument is simple: how will Dinwiddie — a guy who has proven that he can put the ball in the basket (he's currently averaging a career-best 20.6 points and 1.9 triples per game) — co-exist with two ball-dominant players like Irving and Durant? Would Dinwiddie lose most of his value with a significantly reduced usage rate?
More importantly, will Dinwiddie be able to successfully evolve into a third option (or perhaps even a fourth option once Caris LeVert is fully up to speed) when required? Dinwiddie himself addressed this concern, saying that in his mind, the answer is a resounding yes.
“First, I'm a basketball player,” he said, via James Herbert of CBS Sports. “and I try to have the most well-rounded game possible. But people forget when I was recruited out of high school, I was recruited as a passer.”
“With Kyrie and KD, if you're telling me I get to come out here and pass to two phenomenal scorers and get 10 assists a game and maybe be in second gear a lot of times with my scoring, I'm fine,” he said. “If I average 14 and 10 and we win a title, but KD averages 35 and Ky averages 25 or whatever it would be, like, I'm good with that. I'm more than fine with that. That's more in line with how I played the game growing up than it is a lot of the other spurts and seasons that I've put together since I've been older.”
As Dinwiddie explained above, he is more than willing to take on a reduced role for the good of the Nets. He is currently averaging 6.8 assists (also a career-best) this season, which proves that he is a more than able playmaker. We can only imagine this number going up once he has guys like Irving and Durant to pass too.
Dinwiddie is not a bad shooter of the 3-ball as well. He is currently draining 1.9 triples per ballgame, which is indeed respectable. He should get more uncontested shots with Irving and Durant ion the mix, and should get a good opportunity to improve on his current 30.8-percent clip from distance. This is perhaps one of the most important areas Dinwiddie will need to focus on, as he will surely be on the receiving end of more than a few catch-and-shoot opportunities next season.
Another option for the Nets would be to use Dinwiddie off the bench. With Irving and Durant combining for majority of the offense for the first unit, using Dinwiddie as a backup isn't going to be such a bad idea. After all, he has thrived in this role before, and if he is able to somehow maintain his current scoring for the second unit, then surely, he should be a frontrunner for next season's Sixth Man of the Year award.
Dinwiddie is also on a considerably affordable deal. His current contract will see him earn $23 million over the next couple of seasons, so that's definitely something the Nets can work with. It is worth noting, however, than he will have a player option on his deal for the 2o21-22 season, but that's a discussion that needs to be made on another day.