This season’s trade deadline came and went without the Los Angeles Lakers making any deals. It left a good but deficient roster still in need of a couple of reinforcements in order to give the team a strong shot at making a late-season run.
Once Thursday’s trade deadline was behind them, the Lakers turned their attention to the buyout market. There are several interesting players reportedly available on the buyout market, and they had their sights set mainly on veteran guard Spencer Dinwiddie.
Dinwiddie was bought out by the Toronto Raptors on Thursday just after arriving in a trade from the Brooklyn Nets. After he cleared waivers on Saturday, he officially signed with the Purple and Gold.
OFFICIAL: Welcome home 💜 pic.twitter.com/upXQktnJtg
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 11, 2024
The guard moved quickly to meet with the Lakers on Friday in order to become a member of the team.
Via ESPN:
“The 10-year veteran attended the Lakers’ 139-122 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday along with his agent, Jason Glushon of Glushon Sports Management, and sat with Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka in a lower-level luxury suite directly across from the team’s bench,” wrote Dave McMenamin. “After the game, he visited with Lakers players and coaches in the locker room.”
Dinwiddie has career averages of 13.6 points and 5.3 assists a game. At 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds, he can provide some legitimate size for an L.A. team that is currently thin in the backcourt.
Gabe Vincent, who was expected to play a key role as a backup ball-handling guard, remains out due to knee surgery. He has played in just five games this season, and fans are growing more skeptical he will ever return, even though he’s reportedly on track to perhaps come back in early March.
Meanwhile, Max Christie, who has earned some minutes as a reserve 2-guard, missed the team’s win on Friday over the New Orleans Pelicans with a sprained ankle.
Dinwiddie is originally from the Los Angeles area, and he even played with D’Angelo Russell for two seasons as a member of the Nets. He also has playoff experience, and he went to the Western Conference Finals two seasons ago with the Dallas Mavericks.
