Steve Nash only coached Spencer Dinwiddie for two full regular-season games in 2020-21 before tearing his right front cruciate ligament ended Dinwiddie's final year with the Nets. Before Dinwiddie returned to Brooklyn with the Washington Wizards, Nash looked back on the Nets' five years of injuries and a return throughout the season. "He looks great," Nash said. "I'm really happy and excited for him. No one wants to see him miss too much time due to a serious injury. So to get him back, to get back to 100% of the way he was, to get back to the way he was, it's good news and it's good to see that he's going to challenge us today. He's a great athlete who can shoot and score points, and I think he's a great player for them. ”
Brooklyn struck a deal with the Wizards in early August, signing Dinwiddie on a $62 million three-year contract. Dinwiddie averaged 14.3 points per game and shot 41.7 percent, including 32.6 percent from three-point range and 5.3 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 27.8 minutes. In the 2015–20 season, the Nets played 132 of 274 regular season games.
"For Spencer, everything is a foregone conclusion — he has to fully recover from his injuries, in a sense, like everything starts all over again," Nash said. "Therefore, if you want to turn the situation around, you really need a lot of mental strength and confidence." You can get medical approval, you can go back on the pitch, but are you still yourself?
"So I think it's a challenge, a psychological barrier for players who go through pre-cruciate ligaments, like Kevin (Durant) and his Achilles. These types of injuries, which test you mentally, are also actually repairing the damage. ”
Dinwiddie was injured on December 27, but tenaciously recovered, undergoing surgery on January 4 and medical examinations for all basketball activities on June 22. Three days ago, the Nets lost seven games against the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals, with injuries to Kyrie Irving (ankle) and James Harden (hamstring) limiting Brooklyn.
"I just don't think it's fair to Spencer," Nash said, when asked if the Nets were considering Dinwiddie when they played against Milwaukee. In a sense, his vision was perfect. For example, I think ACL, people will say, 'After 6 months, you can be allowed to play.' I think there's two or three months left after that and you should play the game in a safe environment before you actually decide to play again."
"So I personally don't like it. I don't think any of our medical staff think this is fair to Spencer. ... If that would jeopardize his current situation, it wouldn't be fair to Spencer. So we didn't bring it up. We think it's best to give him time to heal and let his career continue. ”