Dinwiddie wants to stay with Nets
A week from Saturday, the Nets can give Spencer Dinwiddie up to a four-year, $47.5 million extension, and he hopes they do.
He prefers staying in Brooklyn to free agency. But even though the deal looks like a bargain for the Nets, it’s certainly no lock they make it.
“I’d love to have an extension. I’d love to be here for a long time. If I don’t get an extension, I’ll be looking forward to unrestricted free agency and going through the season trying to help the Nets win games as much as possible,” Dinwiddie said. “Either I’m going to sign an extension or I’m going to be an unrestricted free agent, simple as that. The ball is very much in [general manager] Sean Marks and the Nets’ court.
“Everybody knows what my extension number is: Four for $47 ¹/2 million. … Can’t go above. It’s not like I’m really looking to go below. It is what it is. I’ll find out when you guys find out. We’ll either see something on the ESPN ticker that says ‘ Spencer Dinwiddie offered $47 ¹ /2 million from the Brooklyn Nets,’ and then you guys will know how much money my bank account has at that moment in time.”
Right now, that would seem a good value for the Nets.
With guard-needy teams like the Suns and Magic out there, sources told The Post Dinwiddie could command more in free agency. So why wouldn’t the Nets jump to sign him?
Dinwiddie currently makes $1.656 million and an extension would put the Nets over the luxury-tax threshold.
While Marks has praised owners Mikhail Prokhorov and Joe Tsai for being willing to spend, that’s noteworthy.
The Nets (8-14) are 0-3 in a four-game homestand that tips off a stretch where they play 13-of-17 at home. They host the Grizzlies on Friday.
If the Nets are out of the playoff race by the holidays, would they be sellers before the Feb. 7 trade deadline? Dinwiddie, 25, is a nice asset, especially with the games he has left at a low salary.
If the Nets don’t ink Dinwiddie by June 30 and let him hit free agency, they could use his Bird Rights and sign him late as they did with Joe Harris.
The Nets would then be hoping he gives them a hometown discount, as Harris did. And they wouldn’t be limited to offering him $47.5 million. But neither would other teams, and they’d risk letting an asset walk away for nothing, something Marks has yet to do. Extending Dinwiddie would cut into next summer’s $50 million-$70 million in cap space.
They’d need to give D’Angelo Russell a qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent, and would still hope to land other big targets.
Dec. 8 has always been a big date in Dinwiddie’s life, and it could get bigger.
“[My late grandmother’s] birthday is Dec. 8. My little brother’s birthday is Dec. 8. I wear number 8 in part because of those two days,” he said. “There’s a lot of stuff there that people don’t really unpack because they’re always focused on the extension and the money.
“Whether it’s $47 ¹/2 million or unrestricted free agency, a lot of guys in their career dream of going to unrestricted free agency and having that kind of control over their destiny. … So either way, it’s been a hell of a ride.It’s been a lot of fun. I’m enjoying it.”
Kenny Atkinson praised Dinwiddie’s focus despite the contractual situation.
I haven’t noticed any of the contract thing hanging over his head in his attitude, in his play,” the coach said. “Sometimes that weighs on a guy and you see it in the locker room, see it with his on-court play. I have not seen it, not even a tinge of him playing selfishly or looking for his. His disposition, his maturity, it’s been much better than last season”