Dinwiddie had six points and seven assists in his Lakers debut, and the reinforcements James had been waiting for had finally arrived
Accompanied by Pelinka and the Buss brothers, Dinwiddie did not choose the more well-paid Dallas Mavericks, but joined his hometown team, the Lakers.
In the middle of the season, when there were few buyers, Dinwiddie was acquired without any chips, and the Lakers seemed to be the biggest winners in the buyout market.
At noon on the 14th, Dinwiddie also made his first appearance for the Lakers - in the Lakers' 125-111 victory over the Pistons, he scored 6 points, 7 assists and 2 rebounds, and the Lakers finally had another reliable option on the bench.
Dinwiddie (right) plays for the Lakers.
Emotional cards
In the NBA, sometimes you have to admit the importance of heritage.
When Dinwiddie was left with only the Mavericks and Lakers, more people in the league thought the Mavericks would be Dinwiddie's new destination.
Reporter Eric Pincus put it even more conclusively: "My gut tells me that Dinwiddie will choose the Mavericks because the Mavericks can pay more than the Lakers, and even after deducting taxes, Dinwiddie can earn twice as much as he does with the Lakers." Money may not be the only determining factor, but most of the determinants are money. ”
As Eric Pincus analyzed, the Mavericks could offer Dinwiddie a $5.3 million contract, while the Lakers could only offer a $1.5 million contract. Considering only from the perspective of salary, the judgment is made.
But after all, there are still limitations to the media's ideas, and after walking around the sidelines of the Mavericks and Lakers, Dinwiddie still chose the Lakers with "less money and more things".
The reason is that the Lakers' heritage once again influences the choice of players.
Dinwiddie played for the Mavericks.
After all, when netizens picked up Dinwiddie's bold words of "I will come to the Lakers" when he was a fledgling ten years ago, and the tears of "I have been Komi since I was a child, and I wore the No. 26 (Kobe Bryant No. 24 + Gigi No. 2) jersey to mourn after Kobe's accident", this emotional card is almost incomprehensible.
Even emotionally, the Mavericks, who are their old club, don't have an advantage, after all, the Lakers also have a large number of old Dinwiddie acquaintances — Russell, Prince and Wood, who have played alongside Dinwiddie.
That's why, when Dinwiddie announced his move to the Lakers, Wood triumphantly said, "My recruitment worked." I'm supposed to be a general manager, and welcome to the Lakers. ”
Pelinka's biggest mid-season signing comes with Dinwiddie's biggest mid-season signing, "Dinwiddie's playmaking and aggressiveness at guard provide us with valuable squad depth and we'll be making a strong impact in the second half of the season." ”
Lakers coach Darvin Ham welcomes Dinwiddie.
Do more with less
After Dinwiddie signed a $1.5 million contract with the Lakers, the Lakers' luxury tax this season also increased to $7 million. But for the Lakers, the $7 million is a big deal for a small amount of money.
Just before the Lakers' 106-114 loss to the Nuggets, Pelinka had this to say: "You can't buy a house that isn't for sale, and we've spent a lot of time looking for ways to use assets to make our team better, but sometimes it's better not to act than to act wisely." ”
This is Pelinka's first appearance after the trade deadline, and before that, various versions of the Lakers getting a trade offer for Dejounte Murray were circulated around the league, but the Lakers didn't make any roster changes in the end.
ESPN said that even though the Lakers made numerous phone calls before the trade deadline, they discussed a trade plan with the Hawks for weeks but never agreed. Eventually, the Lakers decided not to sacrifice their future anymore.
According to Pelinka, it's a drop-back option, "We only have one first-round pick at our disposal before the trade deadline, which is our only leverage, but when we draft this summer, we're going to have three first-round picks available for trade." ”
Pelinka also said that he spoke with James before the trade deadline and that James' message to him was, "No matter who is on the list, he will do his part and lead the Lakers further." ”
As a result, the Lakers did not move in the trade market until they caught Dinwiddie, the "big fish", in the buyout market.
Dinwiddie walks into the Lakers' home court.
In fact, it's not just the Lakers, but the trade deadline this season can be described as thunderous and rainy. In the 48 hours leading up to the trade deadline, none of the All-Star-caliber players changed teams, and only two players with annual salaries of more than $20 million were traded.
According to The Athletic, the current NBA powerhouses are all suffering from explosive trade after-effects — teams have used up most of their assets in previous deals, and few teams can be buyers.
Not only that, but more and more teams are putting trades in front, including Harden, Siakam, Anunoby, and other star trades, which have been finalized early this season, so the trade deadline is mostly only for some rotation players.
According to The Athletic, there were 17 transactions involving 46 players in the 36 hours before the trade deadline, but only 18 players were the players the trader really wanted, and 10 players were abandoned by their new owners after the trade occurred.
When the Lakers, Warriors and other teams choose to "not toss", it is enough to show that in this season's NBA, more and more teams have begun to live cautiously.
What can Dinwiddie bring to the Lakers?
Although Dinwiddie is already the best guard in the buyout market at the moment, it is undeniable that compared to the league's famous two-way guard in peak form, Dinwiddie has declined significantly this season.
This season, Dinwiddie averaged only 12.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 6 assists per game, shooting 39% from the field, 32% from three-point range, and 38.7% from the bottom of the league.
It's not hard to understand why Dinwiddie, who is in his contract year and at his lowest point, is the target of trades and layoffs.
Of course, many people think his performance is a sign of sluggishness — after all, in the 14 games leading up to the trade deadline, Dinwiddie averaged just 7.7 shots per game.
ESPN expert Zach Lowe was even blunt in his column: "Dinwiddie has the second-lowest number of 14 breakthroughs in 100 rounds, and the offense under the basket is almost the worst of his career, and it looks like Dinwiddie is on strike of some degree." ”
Dinwiddie will be joined by Bushy Eyebrows (left) and James (right).
But for the Lakers, Dinwiddie's arrival has added size, athleticism and outside three-point shooting to the Lakers, especially during his two-and-a-half-season season in Dallas, where Dinwiddie shot a whopping 40.4 percent from three-point range.
When Dinwiddie can shoot efficiently from three-point range with Doncic at his back, the Lakers believe he can play a similar role alongside James and Davis.
Especially when comparing Russell to Rivers, Dinwiddie's defense looks like the best one.
In the late stages of the Nets, when the team focused on the development of Bridges and Cameron Thomas, it was normal for a veteran like Dinwiddie to choose to paddle after playing in the league for ten years, but when he chose to give up his $4 million income to join the Lakers, he naturally understood what he wanted.