LOS ANGELES — After the Lakers’ 139-122 home win against the New Orleans Pelicans, D’Angelo Russell alluded to Spencer Dinwiddie, his former Brooklyn Nets teammate who is a free agent and was in attendance on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena, joining the Lakers.
“I’m a fan,” Russell said. “But y’all get to know him soon. I’ll let you all dig into that.”
Russell was right, with Dinwiddie – one of the top available free agents after a series of post-trade buyouts – signing with the Lakers on Saturday evening after clearing waivers earlier in the day.
Dinwiddie, who will wear No. 26 with the Lakers, is expected to practice with his new team on Monday with the expectation that he’ll be available against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night, the first of a back-to-back set before playing the Utah Jazz on Wednesday in Salt Lake City.
The Lakers didn’t make any moves ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline despite hovering around .500 all season, but General Manager Rob Pelinka made it clear they were going to be aggressive in the free agency/buyout market – especially in pursuit of another ball-handling guard because reserve guard Gabe Vincent has only played five games this season because of left knee ailments.
The 30-year-old Dinwiddie, who was traded from Brooklyn to Toronto and waived by the Raptors this week, watched the Lakers-Pelicans game from the stands while seated next to Pelinka.
Dinwiddie, who attended Dallas’ game at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, is an L.A. native who starred at Taft High in Woodland Hills and played three seasons at Colorado.
“Spencer is returning to his roots and the city where his journey began,” Pelinka said in a social media post showing some of Dinwiddie’s highlights. “We welcome him back to his hometown of Los Angeles. We are thrilled for him to wear the iconic Lakers uniform in front of his family and friends. His play-making and aggressiveness from the guard position provides us valuable depth as we continue our strong push toward the back half of the season. Spencer adds a wealth of experience to our roster and brings proven success in the postseason.”
The 6-foot-5 guard could provide perimeter shooting for the Lakers. He averaged 12.6 points and six assists in 48 starts for the Nets this season. He had returned for his second stint in Brooklyn just before last year’s trade deadline, coming from Dallas as part of the package for Kyrie Irving.
“Playmaking, another ball handler, another shot-maker,” LeBron James said of what Dinwiddie could add. “Another guy, another veteran. Anytime you can add a veteran with that ability, it helps. So we’ll see what happens.”
Anthony Davis gave an endorsement as well.
“He’s a big guard, a shot-maker,” Davis said. “We’ve seen what he did with Brooklyn, what he did with Dallas, making big plays for them. He’s a well-established player, a vet in this league.”
Dinwiddie will make around $1.5 million for the remainder of the season, according to multiple reports, and will fill the team’s 15th and final standard roster spot. The Lakers were able to offer slightly more than the prorated veteran’s minimum for the remainder of the season since they didn’t use their entire midlevel exception to sign Vincent last summer.
