Last Week: Beat New York Knicks 117-112, Beat Indiana Pacers 124-115, Lost to Orlando Magic 121-113
This Week: 3/21 vs. Washington Wizards, 3/23 at Portland Trail Blazers, 3/24 at Utah Jazz, 3/26 at Detroit Pistons
Spencer Dinwiddie
Quickly becoming one of the most talked-about names on the trade market, Spencer Dinwiddie and his (essentially) expiring contract represents the best way for the Brooklyn Nets to upgrade their roster as they continue to plow through the rest of the league (Friday’s loss to the Orlando Magic notwithstanding).
Dinwiddie is not coming back this season after partially tearing his ACL three games into the year. Since then, the Nets have added James Harden, making the role for Dinwiddie even more ambiguous. He has a player option this summer that he is unlikely to pick up given the relative dearth of talent on the free-agent market. Since the Nets are over the salary cap, they will have to use his contract number now rather than losing out on a chance to add a player with that sort of salary number.
For a team obtaining Dinwiddie, this is all about Bird Rights. This means a team can go over the salary cap to re-sign one of their own players whose Bird Rights they own. This may be a minimal benefit but for certain teams that will be invaluable for keeping a player of Dinwiddie’s caliber. He is a special player when he is on the court. There is just less space for him on the Nets.