Pistons: Making sense of Spencer Dinwiddie trade rumors

The Detroit Pistons reshaped their entire roster via trades in the offseason, and they’re rumored to have interest in Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie. According to SNY’s Ian Begley, the Pistons are among the teams who have displayed some interest.

It stands to reason that new Pistons general manager Troy Weaver isn’t done making trades after an active offseason, but Dinwiddie might not be the best fit for the situation in Detroit.

Making sense of the Spencer Dinwiddie/Detroit Pistons trade rumors

This potential union between Dinwiddie and his former team is fascinating for a variety of reasons.

First off, Dinwiddie has a player option worth $12.3 million coming up in the offseason, and the Pistons are not likely to want to give much up in order to get him. That is, of course, unless they have assurances that he’ll pick up his option and stay in Detroit, or perhaps decline it and sign an extension.

Weaver would need to have some kind of information on Dinwiddie’s thought process here before proceeding with a deal. The Pistons may have a few pieces that the Nets would appreciate in return, including a center like Mason Plumlee who can provide some playmaking and size. But does it make sense to give up an important player like Plumlee for an injured Dinwiddie who will simply be redundant at a point guard position with Dennis Smith Jr., Saben Lee, Killian Hayes and (depending on what trades get made) Delon Wright?

Maybe not. Surprisingly enough, the Pistons suddenly have a robust point guard core, and Dinwiddie would be another body at that position. Additionally, he doesn’t really shoot well enough to play off the ball alongside these other more natural point guards, so it’s hard to find the fit there.

While there may not be much synergy with Dinwiddie and the Pistons roster, potential bad blood between the two parties may not exist to the same degree it once did. He was traded by the Pistons to the Chicago Bulls for Cameron Bairstow, who they swiftly waived.

The Bulls subsequently waived him and then signed him to their G League team where he earned a spot with the Brooklyn Nets in the 2016-17 season. In Dinwiddie’s five seasons with Brooklyn, he’s averaged 14.3 points per game, including a career-high 20.6 last season.

He was instrumental in recruiting Kyrie Irving to the Nets, who in turn brought Kevin Durant in tow, which makes any Dinwiddie trade awkward and bizarre.

The administration that traded Dinwiddie from Detroit in the first place is long gone. Head coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy has departed, as has general manager Jeff Bower. The names at the top of the org chart are different, and the Pistons don’t even play in the same venue anymore. They moved from the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan, to Little Caesars Arena in Midtown Detroit, and their team headquarters and practice facility have moved from Auburn Hills to Detroit as well.

A trade would be as close to a fresh start as can be when getting sent back to your old team five years after they gave up on you. Still, it can’t possibly be Spencer Dinwiddie’s preferred outcome at this point.