Spencer Dinwiddie was part of the trade alongside Davis Bertans that saw the Washington Wizards acquire Kristaps Porzingis from the Dallas Mavericks. The trade was widely questioned by Mavericks fans in particular, considering that both Dinwiddie and Bertans had struggled with the Wizards and the perception was that they were bad contracts.
However, Dinwiddie in particular has blown any negativity out of the water since he arrived in Dallas. The guard has settled into the rotation as the 3rd playmaker behind Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson and has been spectacular to start his Mavericks career. He punctuated that start with 36 points against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night, leading the Mavericks to a win with Luka Doncic not playing.
So what exactly went wrong for Dinwiddie in Washington? There were rumors that he was an issue in the locker room, trying to take on a leadership role that wasn’t received well by his fellow players. There were also suggestions of issues with his role. After his incredible performance against the Kings, Dinwiddie spoke up about his exit from the Wizards, saying that he felt hurt by all the reports that blamed him (via ESPN).
“I think that’s what hurt the most,” Dinwiddie said. “I’ve never bashed Washington. I’ve never said an ill thing about the team. In fact, I thank the owner or chairman Ted [Leonsis], I thank Tommy Sheppard the GM and I thank [Bradley Beal] for those three kind of collectively deciding to give me my contract. They didn’t have to pay somebody coming off an ACL.
“I’m appreciative of that, appreciative of my time there. … So to be bashed out on the way out the door hurt my feelings for sure. I think I’m human, of course.
“When the role changed and they wanted me to pass more — they felt like I was scoring a lot — I did that. I took my foot off the gas scoring-wise because that’s what they felt — the team needed to get [Kyle Kuzma] and [Kentavious Caldwell-Pope] and those guys shots. I said, ‘Look, I already got paid. This is about y’all trying to get the shots that y’all need, whatever.’
“So to get kind of kicked out the door was a wild feeling. I hadn’t really experienced that before. But I still have nothing ill to say other than, yes, it hurt my feelings.”
Dinwiddie averaged just 8.4 points in his final 8 games with the Wizards, a shocking number considering he has already scored 17 or more points in 4 of his last 5 games for the Mavericks. While the Wizards have a lot to think about in terms of their culture, the Mavericks will be glad they got a second scorer and playmaker of Dinwiddie’s caliber to play alongside Luka Doncic.
