In the short-term, as the Lakers cling to a spot in the Western Conference’s play-in tournament after a silent trade deadline, they’ll turn to signing former Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie once he clears waivers, per ESPN.
But as Los Angeles looks to revamp its roster around LeBron James this offseason, three possible trade targets include the Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell, the Hawks’ Trae Young and the Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving, according to The Athletic.
Dinwiddie was waived by the Raptors after the Nets sent him to Toronto in exchange for Thaddeus Young — who was also waived following the deal — and Dennis Schröder, and following his release, the 30-year-old attended the Mavericks’ game against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden before sitting next to agent Jason Glushon and Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka as Los Angeles hosted the Pelicans on Friday.
His deal with the Lakers after clearing waivers will allow Dinwiddie to play for his hometown team, opting for a chance to play alongside James and Anthony Davis instead of returning to Dallas — where he spent the end of the 2021-22 campaign and the start of last season before getting traded to the Nets at the deadline.
The days and weeks leading up to the Feb. 8 deadline marked a strange stretch for the Lakers, as James stirred up rumors after blasting their inconsistencies and tweeting an hourglass after their loss to the Hawks on Jan. 30.
Rich Paul, his agent, later clarified that James hadn’t requested a trade and wouldn’t be dealt ahead of the deadline, but just days later, James brought a Knicks towel to a postgame interview after the Lakers won at the Garden — a move that ESPN reporter Brian Windhorst described as a “tool to pressure the Lakers.”
Dinwiddie won’t fix all of Los Angeles’ issues this season.
He averaged just 12.6 points and six assists per game to start the 2023-24 campaign, watching as his role diminished — and kept diminishing — until Dinwiddie finished with fewer than nine points in five of his final eight games with the Nets.
But with three first-round picks available to use for deals this offseason, the Lakers could try to pair Young (27.3 points per game, three-time All-Star) and Mitchell (28.5 points per game, five-time All-Star) with James for the first time.
Or Pelinka could see if James and Irving could rekindle some of the chemistry from when they were teammates — and won a title — before an ugly divorce in Cleveland.
“We had one first-round draft pick was our only sort of hook to fish with,” Pelinka told reporters Thursday, according to The Athletic. “And this summer in June, at the time of the draft, we’ll have three first-round draft picks to look for deals, which I think will really unlock access to potentially a greater or bigger swing.
“And we didn’t want to shoot a small bullet now that would only lead to very marginal improvement at the expense of making a much bigger and more impactful movement potentially in June and July.”
