Detroit Pistons Interested in a Reunion With Spencer Dinwiddie

The Detroit Pistons are said to be among the teams interested in acquiring Spencer Dinwiddie before the trade deadline.

ESPN recently reported that the Nets are shopping the 27-year old guard to upgrade their roster for a championship run and Dinwiddie has quickly generated interest from several teams, Detroit included, per SNY’s Ian Begley.

Dinwiddie averaged 20.8 points and 6.8 assists per game for the Nets last season before struggling while playing only three games before suffering a season-ending injury.

Partially Torn ACL

Dinwiddie is currently out with an ACL injury and underwent surgery in early January. There was optimism that he could be able to return to action later this season or maybe in the playoffs but the Nets look like they are prepared to finish the season without him.

Spencer Dinwiddie has been diagnosed with a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament of the right knee. The injury occurred during the third quarter of last night’s game in Charlotte. Further updates will be issued following surgery, which is scheduled to take place next week. pic.twitter.com/qV9miVXgXb

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) December 28, 2020

Brooklyn has been busy tinkering with its lineup, looking to upgrade the roster and give their three superstars the right supporting cast they need to make a run at the championship. The Nets are expected to be active players in the buyout and trade market to achieve that.

With Dinwiddie unserviceable this season and owning a player option for the next that would allow him to hit free agency after the current campaign, the Nets may want to move him. However, if Dinwiddie would be traded, he would have to go to a team that would likely sign him beyond the 2021-22 season.

The Pistons are projected to have cap room this summer so they could be the right partners in a trade. The best NBA betting sites also don’t expect the Pistons to make the playoffs this season so getting Dinwiddie also makes sense because they are a team who isn’t in a hurry to use his services.

Bad Blood?

But there might be a problem between Dinwiddie and the Pistons because it was Detroit who drafted him 38th overall in the 2014 NBA Draft. There could be a feeling of ill will if Dinwiddie gets sent back to the team that gave up on him after only 46 regular season games in two years.

TRADE ALERT:

Bulls acquire PG Spencer Dinwiddie from Pistons for C Cameron Bairstow. pic.twitter.com/Liv7xnKSSY

— Dylan Reubenking (@drksportsnews) June 17, 2016

The Pistons traded Dinwiddie to the Bulls even before he could show his true wares and the guy they took, Cameron Bairstow, was immediately waived. Chicago then proceeded to waive Dinwiddie and signed him to their G League Team before the former Colorado product earned his way to the Brooklyn Nets’ roster in 2016.

However, the management that traded Dinwiddie from the Pistons is long gone. President of Basketball Operations Stan Van Gundy and General Manager Jeff Bower have departed and the perceived bad blood may not even exist at all. The players on the current team are different too, and the Pistons now even play for a different venue.

Dinwiddie may need a fresh start too and play for a rebuilding team would make sense. The Nets have loaded their lineup with star power and have James Harden and Kyrie Irving who could alternate at the point guard position so Dinwiddie may have lost his place in the Nets rotation as well.