Brooklyn Nets rumors: Spencer Dinwiddie on Phoenix Suns wishlist
By Phil Watson
According to the latest Brooklyn Nets rumors, guard Spencer Dinwiddie is one of a few point guards being targeted by the Phoenix Suns in a possible trade.
The latest Brooklyn Nets rumors come from another direction, as reports out of Arizona indicate that guard Spencer Dinwiddie is on the wishlist as the Phoenix Suns are still seeking an upgrade at the point guard spot.
According to Arizona Sports, Dinwiddie is one of three point guards the Suns are looking to target in a potential trade, along with Patrick Beverley of the Los Angeles Clippers and Cory Joseph of the Indiana Pacers.
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Beverley may be the most attainable target for Phoenix, which cut incumbent starter Tyler Ulis in late June and traded Brandon Knight to the Houston Rockets on Aug. 30.
All three guards are on expiring contracts, with Beverley on a non-guaranteed deal for this season at $5.03 million, per Early Bird Rights.
Joseph and Dinwiddie are on guaranteed contracts for this season, with Dinwiddie’s a very reasonable $1.66 million. Joseph is on the books for $7.95 million for this year, the final year of the four-year, $29 million deal he signed with the Toronto Raptors in 2015.
The Clippers are in a roster crunch after matching the offer sheet Tyrone Wallace received from the New Orleans Pelicans. That match left the Clips with 17 players on guaranteed deals for this season, a number that will have to be reduced to 15.
L.A. also has a logjam in the backcourt with Wallace and Beverley as well as Avery Bradley, Jawun Evans, Milos Teodosic, Sindarius Thornwell, Lou Williams and first-round picks Jerome Robinson and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Indiana has Joseph behind starter Darren Collison, but they also took point guard Aaron Holiday in the first round of the June NBA Draft.
For Brooklyn, there is a crowded backcourt as well. D’Angelo Russell is the projected starter at the point, with Dinwiddie next in line, but Shabazz Napier and undrafted free agent Jordan McLaughlin also on the roster.
Caris LeVert can also play the point, as he showed some aptitude while Russell and former Net Jeremy Lin were sidelined with knee injuries last season.
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Dinwiddie can also play the 2, where the Nets have Allen Crabbe at the top of the depth chart along with LeVert, first-round pick Dzanan Musa and undrafted free agent Theo Pinson.
Phoenix has four point guards on the roster, but none of them are proven first-unit commodities. They have journeyman Isaiah Canaan and youngsters Elie Okobo, Shaquille Harrison and De’Anthony Melton.
Beverley missed all put 11 games in his first season with the Clippers after being acquired in the Chris Paul trade in the summer of 2017. He is expected to be ready for training camp after undergoing surgery on his right knee last fall.
In those 11 games, he started all of them and averaged 12.2 points, 4/1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.7 steals in 30.4 minutes per game on .403/.400/14-for-17 shooting.
Beverley was a second-round pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2009 NBA Draft, but played three years abroad (Ukraine, Greece and Russia) before catching on with the Rockets in 2013.
In six NBA seasons, Beverley has averaged 9.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.3 steals in 28.6 minutes a game while shooting .413/.376/.767. He is also a two-time All-Defensive selection, making the first team in 2016-17.
Joseph, a Canadian native, was the 29th overall pick in the first round by the San Antonio Spurs in 2011 and grew into a regular rotation role by his third season before signing with the Raptors as a free agent in 2015.
He was acquired by Indiana in a trade in July 2017 and his numbers dipped despite playing a career-high 27.0 minutes per game. Joseph put up 7.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.0 steals on .424/.353/.745 shooting.
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Dinwiddie was a finalist for the Most Improved Player award last season after averaging 12.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 6.6 assists — all career-highs — in 28.8 minutes per game, but shot just .387/.326/.813.
The Nets signed Dinwiddie as a free agent in December 2016, about seven weeks after he had been released by the Chicago Bulls.
This could be a situation where Nets general manager Sean Marks can use leverage against Suns GM Ryan McDonough, who is obviously coming from a position of need.
The rebuilding Suns have been trying to hold onto their picks and already owes Brooklyn a second-round pick in 2021 that is top-35 protected and are owed a 2019 first-round pick by the Milwaukee Bucks, a pick that is top-three and 17-30 protected next year, top-seven protected in 2020 and unprotected in 2021.
The Milwaukee pick is not likely to be conveyed until 2020. It’s unlikely the Bucks will land at the top of the lottery, but should make the playoffs — which would push the pick to the following year when it is only protected through the top seven.
That might be a nice target for Brooklyn, which has other options at the point and has some wiggle room with Dinwiddie, who isn’t eligible for an extension until Dec. 8 (the anniversary of his original signing date).
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According to the Arizona Sports report, the Suns have also discussed higher-profile targets such as Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers and Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Hornets, as well as Terry Rozier of the Boston Celtics.