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Nets must re-sign Spencer Dinwiddie, if nothing else than as an insurance policy for Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Irving has missed 70 games the last two seasons between injuries, personal reasons, and rest. The lifelong Nets fan turned franchise savior is an electrifying force when he's healthy and on the court.
Irving has often been plagued by various mental and physical problems and is far from the most durable player in the league, which is why the Nets need to make re-signing Spencer Dinwiddie the team's top priority. Yes, $145 million dollars over five-years sounds like ludicrous money to dole out to a backup point guard, but given Irving's history of missing games, Dinwiddie will likely get significant minutes and represent an important insurance policy for the team's starter.


  Dinwiddie could start on about 20 teams throughout the NBA, but the Nets happen to have a top 3 player at the point guard position, so an embarrassment of riches isn't something Brooklyn should apologize for. Dinwiddie has been far from an iron man during his NBA days and college playing days, but having a sixth man that can go for 25 and 10 on any given night, might be exactly what a championship hopeful team needs with a collection of otherworldly superstars who have a penchant for missing games.

Nets Owner Joe Tsai expected to go deep into luxury tax with Alibaba stock surging

Unlike the majority of the world economy, Alibaba has been one of the select few companies to persevere and actually prosper during a global pandemic.
One of the company's cofounders, Joseph Tsai, happens to own the Brooklyn Nets, a franchise that has an extension for its big three superstars pending this summer. Along with securing the long term futures of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden, Spencer Dinwiddie is looking for upwards of a five-year $145 million deal to remain in Brooklyn. Injuries detailed the Nets title hopes, but filling out the roster around the big three will be imperative if they hope to realize their true potential. Paying Dinwiddie will push the franchise deep into the luxury tax, but for a billionaire owner whose personal wealth continues to grow, now is not the time for the Nets to shy away from the luxury tax burden if it's the difference between another early playoff exit or the franchise's first Larry O'Brien trophy.

Spencer Dinwiddie open to returning to Nets, but his asking price is out of sight

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Spencer Dinwiddie is a borderline star with the potential to cash in on a life changing payday. Dinwiddie may get a near-max deal, it just won't come in Brooklyn.


  The Nets backup guard has had both knees surgically repaired since his college days at Colorado, and at the beginning of last year with the Nets, so while he's entering the prime of his career, a history of injuries, along with steep contract demands makes it almost a forgone conclusion his time with the Nets is likely over.

Dinwiddie and Joe Harris are the only two holdovers from Kenny Atkinson's era with the team and during this off-season, Brooklyn will be searching for a new backup point guard. Dinwiddie was a beloved member of Brooklyn during his five seasons with the Nets, but every general manager and owner has tough decisions to make and seeking a sign and trade with Dinwiddie is the best route for the team and player at this point.

NBA Basketball Gods Smite Down Super teams, leaving Bucks, Suns as last two standing

It might be sacrilegious to say it, but the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns may not be the best teams in their respective conferences, they've simply survived the walking minefield otherwise known as the 2021 NBA playoffs. Not a single player on either team has ever won a ring and that trend was likely to continue before a rash of unforseen injuries sent the Nets, Lakers, Jazz, Nuggets, Clippers and Sixers home early with due to injuries to star players.
The NBA is a star-driven league and with perennial All-Stars James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, Mike Conley, Donovan Mitchell, and Jamal Murray unable to play for either stretches or the entirety of the playoffs. The 2021 NBA Finals has intrigued with 16-year veteran Chris Paul chasing his first ever Larry O'Brien trophy, or Giannis Antetokounmpo trying


  to solidify his status as an all-time great by putting a trophy in his case. Injuries are part of the game, and this is no slight to either the Suns or the Bucks, but they did not face fully healthy opponents on their way to the championship round.

Kevin Love is a perfect fit in Brooklyn if bought out by Cavs

A lot is being made of Kevin Durant and Kevin Love rooming up in Team USA's quest for the Gold in this summer's Tokyo Olympics. The veteran power forward is a likely buyout candidate in Cleveland and rumors are linking him to the Nets as a viable target for GM Sean Marks.
The soon to be 33 year old won the 2016 NBA championship with Kyrie Irving on the Cavs, b and bringing him into the fold in Brooklyn could be the missing piece. Love is a career 37 percent 3-point shooter while averaging 18 points and 11 rebounds per contest. The 13-year veteran's ability to spread the floor with perimeter shooting and help on the boards will offset his pedestrian defensive play.


  The Nets will need all the shooting they can get around Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden, while defense and rebounding have long been the group's weak spot. Love's days in Cleveland area numbered, so a change of scenery and pursuit of a championship in Brooklyn would bring even more dynamism and excitement to the Nets.

With Bucks in NBA Finals, Nets can't help but play the 'what if' game

If you asked the oddsmakers what team to put your money on entering the NBA playoffs, the answer was unequivocally the Brooklyn Nets.
With the most efficient offense in NBA history, and three legitimate MVP caliber players, the stars looked aligned for Brooklyn to win it all. A clean bill of health kept the Nets from climbing the NBA mountaintop as a


  sidelined Kyrie Irving and hobbled James Harden proved to much for even a heroic Kevin Durant to knockout Milwaukee. The Nets gave the Bucks all they could handle as Durant was a mere inch away from sending Milwaukee home in Game 7. Alas, Brooklyn's superteam fell short of lofty expectations and while injuries are a part of the game, the Nets and their fans are left wondering if the best team truly emerged out of the Eastern Conference.

Spencer Dinwiddie proclaims to be top PG in loaded free agent class, but is he?

 In a class that includes Chris Paul, Kyle Lowry, Mike Conley, Dennis Schroder, and Goran Dragic, according to his Instagram post, Spencer Dinwiddie is adamant that he's the best of the bunch.




Outside of Dinwiddie and Conley, all the players listed have either been to an NBA finals or won the title as their team's starting floor general.

Dinwiddie, when healthy, was an electrifying scorer for the Nets, but was designated as the team's sixth man backing up DeAngelo Russell when he was in Brooklyn and Kyrie Irving the last two years.<

The reality is Dinwiddie wants a top of the market point guard contract, that he very well may get, but not in Brooklyn. Sean Marks has already indicated that the Nets will do what's best for the player, and coincidentally a sign and trade scenario will benefit both parties.

Based on the money the Nets have tied up in star players, who are all eligible for extensions this summer, and Dinwiddie's deservedly hefty contract demands, Brooklyn's sixth man extraordinaire will likely be playing elsewhere next season.



Brook Lopez, Nets franchise leading scorer, leads Bucks to brink of NBA Finals Berth

 By all accounts, Brook Lopez is the most talented true center to ever play for the Nets franchise.

The former first round pick out of Stanford in the 2008 NBA draft is still atop the Nets history books in the scoring department.




Giannis Antetokounmpo missed Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals with a knee injury and Lopez brought his game to another level by dropping 33 points and 7 rebounds, while Bobby Portis added 22 points and 8 rebounds to lead Milwaukee to the win.

After nine seasons that spanned the Nets move from New Jersey to Brooklyn, Lopez was an unheralded cornerstone piece who braved some subpar years with the team.

Now just one win shy of reaching his first NBA Finals, Nets fans might be conflicted watching a former team fan favorite make a deep playoff push with a heated Eastern Conference rival.


Nets Insider Podcast: Season Recap, No Sleep in Brooklyn




About

Join Randy Zellea of Back Sports Page and Rick Laughland of Nets Insider as they cover every era of Nets basketball from Teaneck, New Jersey to Brooklyn, New York.

Zellea worked within the Nets pubic relations department during the Nets back to back NBA finals run with Jason Kidd leading the charge, while Laughland covered the team during it's transition to Brooklyn including the shortlived KG, Paul Pierce era.

With stories going back over twenty seasons covering the team professionally and as fans of the franchise, the Nets Insider podcast is a can't miss show for Nets fans ages 2-102.






 Join Nets Insider's Rick Laughland and Randy Zellea of Back Sports Page as they recap the Brooklyn Nets 2020-2021 season and playoff run that fell short of title aspirations. 


With Mavs on verge of hiring Jason Kidd, Nets fans left wondering what went wrong for him in Brooklyn




If the Dallas Mavericks do indeed hire Jason Kidd to succeed Rick Carlisle as the team's head coach, the former Nets legend and head coach will be taking over the franchise that originally drafted him. Kidd coached Brooklyn during it's failed Big three era of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry during the 2013-2014 campaign that ironically also ended in a second round exit. 

Following the Nets' playoff ousting, Kidd met with the team's front office to essentially demand more personnel control with general manager Billy King making some questionable roster moves. 

Brooklyn did not allow Kidd to expand his role to include roster decisions, but allowed him to interview with other clubs, including Milwaukee. Kidd had an outstanding relationship with Marc Lasry, the co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks and formerly with the Nets. 

Brooklyn ultimately traded Kidd that off-season with the franchise legend abruptly concluding his brief one year stint as Brooklyn's head coach. Kidd spent four years in Milwaukee, qualifying for the playoffs twice but failing to get out of the first round. 

After his firing with the Bucks, Kidd spent the last two years as a Lakers assistant coach, but his name emerged both this offseason and last year as a top coaching candidate for various openings across the league. While Kidd's perceived attempt to undermine King rubbed some people the wrong way, in retrospect, Nets fans can't help but think how much different things would have turned out had the team given Kidd more control and demoted King as he was eventually reassigned within the organization anyway.

 Brooklyn can play the what if game regarding this year's playoffs impacted by injuries to the team, or Kidd's ultimate decision to leave the organization, but now with his third stop as a head coach, perhaps inheriting a team led by Luka Doncic will be just what he needs to enjoy playoff success.

Sign and trade most likely scenario for Spencer Dinwiddie, Nets

Spencer Dinwiddie deserves the lucrative deal coming his way this off-season, but the long-term contract and salary level he'll command during free agency probably won't come from Brooklyn's front office.
Nets' GM Sean Marks understands this reality and as crafty and shrewd as there is across the league, Brooklyn's front office executive will aim to get something in return for the G-league standout turned borderline NBA All-Star. Brooklyn will carefully evaluate its bench rotation and supporting cast around Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and James Harden and will look to the buyout market prior to next year's trade deadline and veteran ring chasers willing to accept minimum deals to win the NBA finals. It will be prudent for Marks to at least assure Dinwiddie earns the contract he deserves, while Brooklyn can take his wish list and find the best deal for the future of the franchise and player alike.
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