Getty D'Angelo Russell #1 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts after making a three-point shot in front of Trey Murphy III #25 of the New Orleans Pelicans.
The recruitment of Spencer Dinwiddie reached a fever pitch on Friday, February 9, when the free agent guard pulled up for the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 139-122 rout of the New Orleans Pelicans at Crypto.com arena.
Spencer Dinwiddie at Lakers-Pelicans and is sitting with Rob Pelinka in the Lakers’ VIP seats.
D’Angelo Russell, Dinwiddie’s former Brooklyn Nets teammate, hinted it’s already a done deal.
“I’m a fan [of Dinwiddie]. Y’all get to know him soon,” Russell told reporters.
D’Angelo Russell on Spencer Dinwiddie: “I’m a fan. Y’all will get to know him soon.”
A Los Angeles native, Dinwiddie starred at William Howard Taft High School in the Woodland Hills district, just 24 miles away from the Crypto.com arena. He was the John R. Wooden California High School Player of the Year in 2011 and won the city championship during his senior year.
Lakers, Mavericks in Tug-of-War
After missing out on him at the trade deadline, the Lakers got another chance at him after the Toronto Raptors waived him after acquiring him in the Dennis Schroder deal. But the Lakers are competing against Dinwiddie’s former team, the Dallas Mavericks.
Before he showed up in the Lakers game, he was spotted talking to Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban during their game in New York against the Knicks a few hours after the trade deadline.
Barely 24 hours later, Dinwiddie heard the Lakers pitch.
“Playmaking, another ball handler, another shot-maker. Another guy, another veteran,” LeBron James told reporters when asked what Dinwiddie could add to their team. “Anytime you can add a veteran with that ability, it helps. So we’ll see what happens.”
“Obviously, we’ve seen what he did with Brooklyn, what he did with Dallas making big plays for them,” Anthony Davis added. “He’s a well-established player.”
LeBron James and Anthony Davis on what Spencer Dinwiddie could bring to the Lakers. When D’Angelo Russell was asked about what Dinwiddie is like, as a former teammate of his, said, “I’m a fan, but ya’ll get to know him soon”
Lakers coach Darvin Ham dodged the question but had an interesting answer.
“I just smell some great brisket back there in our food room,” Ham told reporters, “maybe I think he brought the sauce.”
D’Angelo Russell’s Return Fuels Lakers Rebound Win
After sitting out the Lakers’ 114-106 loss to defending champion Denver Nuggets the previous night, Russell returned with aplomb.
With a peace of mind that he’s a Laker for the remainder of the season, Russell did what he does best — score buckets and make plays.
Russell paced the Lakers’ well-balanced attack against the Pelicans with 30 points and five assists as the Lakers’ starting unit all scored 20 or more points.
Austin Reaves added 27 points and four assists. LeBron James and Rui Hachimura had 21 apiece. James also had a game-high 14 assists while Davis pitched in 20 points and six dimes.
The Lakers’ offense flowed like a river especially in the first half when they exploded for 87 points, their most prolific half of the season and the second-highest-scoring first half in franchise history.
They made 49 field goals on 32 assists.
“That just shows what we can do as a team offensively,” Reaves told reporters. “It’s just playing the game the right way. When we do that, everybody gets a better feel and gets a better rhythm and settles into it that way.”
The Lakers maintained their ninth spot in the West as they improved to 28-26 and increased their lead over their closest pursuers Utah Jazz (26-27) and Golden State Warriors (24-25) to 1.5 games.