The Nets are missing James Harden and a couple of other important pieces, but that hasn’t mattered much through the first two games of their second-round series against Milwaukee. Brooklyn demolished the Bucks in Game 2, using a 39-point win to put the rest of the NBA on notice — as if it weren’t already.
Harden is dealing with tightness in his right hamstring, and his timeline for return is still unclear. Imagine what these games would look like if The Beard were healthy? Or if LaMarcus Aldridge hadn’t retired in April due to health concerns stemming from an irregular heart beat? Or if Spencer Dinwiddie was healthy and back on the Barclays Center hardwood in his Nets jersey?
It’s hard to imagine just how good the Nets could be if they had everyone healthy and available. But it’s not that hard to imagine them losing Dinwiddie permanently, as one NBA analyst predicts.
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Spencer Dinwiddie on His Way Out?
In an article published to Bleacher Report on Wednesday, NBA writer Zach Buckley made one early free-agency prediction for each of the 30 NBA teams.
His prediction for the Nets wasn’t exactly surprising.
Buckley thinks Dinwiddie is on his way out of Brooklyn, with more money and minutes awaiting him elsewhere. The 28-year-old Dinwiddie averaged 20.6 points and 6.8 assists last season, a stat combo that rivals that of some of the league’s premier guards. But a partially torn ACL suffered in December derailed his 2020-21 season — he hasn’t been ruled out for the remainder of the postseason, though it’s far from guaranteed that he’s able to contribute — and now the question is where he’ll be next season.
Buckley predicts somewhere other than Brooklyn:
As for future title pursuits, those are complicated by the Nets’ enormous roster costs (already over $154 million tied up between just seven players for next season) and his plans to decline his $12.3 million player option for 2021-22.
“I’m gonna be more than healthy by the time free agency starts, so just from a dollars perspective, you kind of have to,” Dinwiddie told Forbes’ Shlomo Sprung. “$12 million isn’t market value for a starting point guard. … So, obviously, it’s pretty concrete that I’m gonna opt out.”
The fact Dinwiddie references starting point guard rates seems telling, since the Nets will roster both Kyrie Irving and James Harden for at least another season. Brooklyn might want Dinwiddie back (either as a spark plug or a trade chip), but he’ll likely find more minutes, shots and money elsewhere.
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Dinwiddie in Line for Significant Pay Bump
It’s clear Dinwiddie has a good handle on his value to clubs, and that he’s currently being underpaid as a starting-caliber point guard who is capable of 20 points and six assists on a nightly basis.
Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer labeled Dinwiddie as an under-the-radar free agent who is in store for a huge payday. He wrote that “this summer’s complicated marketplace may carve an opening for (Dinwiddie) to reach an average annual value above $15 million.”
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Rising Nets Star Is on His Way out of Brooklyn, Analyst Predicts