Whatever Spencer Dinwiddie’s expectations for his time in Los Angeles were, he struggled to meet them. Even given the context of joining a team mid-season as a buyout signing and perhaps not having his role maximized this season, Dinwiddie never found a rhythm.
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Any potential fit he had on paper never materialized and while he had one of the highlights of the season with his block of Damian Lillard to down the Bucks, it was too many flashes in the pan during his time in Los Angeles.
During his exit interview, Dinwiddie was asked if he would like to return to the Lakers next season and, given the fact he’s from Los Angeles and grew up a Lakers fan, his answer was the obvious one.
“I’m not somebody that necessary gets to call his own shots all the time,” Dinwiddie said. “That’s not my status in the league so we’ll have to see what happens. But if the Lakers want me back, I’d love to be back. Everything I said about this being a childhood dream and being able to play in my hometown, parents at every game, stuff like that, you couldn’t imagine anything better. Also playing alongside arguably the greatest player of all-time, right? There’s nothing really better than that.
“But you know how it is. Lakers are championship or bust so there’s probably going to be changes made and it’s all going to be in an effort to win the title. Obviously, if I’m able to be a part of that, it’ll be another dream come true.”
One-off strong offensive showings gave way to wholly unimpactful playoff performances by season’s end. While he did his best to fit into a role, it came at the cost of him being productive.
In fact, much of his time in purple and gold felt like he was trying too hard to fit in rather than be the player that got him to that point in his career. The Lakers signed Spencer Dinwiddie to be Spencer Dinwiddie and not the player he was trying to be during his tenure.
He also spoke about his time with the Lakers and what he was able to do.
“I came in,” Dinwiddie said, “felt like I was really selfless, bought into a role, tried to play defense to the best of my ability, tried to help out, had some nice moments and we’ll see what the future holds.”
Perhaps the Dinwiddie the Lakers thought they were getting would be worth bringing back. But the one they actually got absolutely is not.
Right now, it’s hard to predict what the Lakers’ backcourt will look like with so many expecting the team to be aggressive in the trade market this summer. The likes of Trae Young and Donovan Mitchell have been mentioned as names the team would target.
On top of that, I’d imagine they’d want to see the likes of Max Christie and Jalen Hood-Schifino step into bigger roles as well. Is there room for Dinwiddie in that case?
Given how his time with the Lakers played out and all the moving parts this summer, it wouldn’t be surprising if this was a half-season-and-done stop for Dinwiddie in purple and gold.