KYRIE SENDS OUT AN S.O.S.

Dinwiddie knew stars would come to B’klyn

No matter what happens with this intriguing star duo of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant in Brooklyn, Spencer Dinwiddie will have played an integral role in its formation.

Dinwiddie has been coy about his recruiting efforts, but there is plenty of evidence suggesting that, at the very least, his connection and pitch to Kyrie Irving carried weight.

And while the rest of the NBA was trumping up the Knicks as the destination of free agent superstars, the Nets locker room knew better because of Dinwiddie.

“Spence knew,” Ed Davis, a member of the Nets last season who is now with the Utah Jazz, told the Daily News. “My locker was right next to Spencer’s too so we used to talk all the time. And he was saying that early [that Durant and Irving were coming to the Nets]. So we knew it was a good chance.”

How early was Dinwiddie saying this?

“Early bro, like before All-Star break,” Davis said.

Dinwiddie is, in many ways, an unlikely coordinator of a superteam. A second-round pick out of Colorado, Dinwiddie required a G-League stint to prove he deserved a second NBA contract. The 26-year-old isn’t part of a banana boat crew or a Team USA clique. But his personality is unique and gravitating. Dinwiddie can explain why he relates to Vegeta (a character in the Japanese anime series, ‘Dragon Ball Z’) and create a business model of selling crypto bonds tied to his earnings. According to the New York Times, Dinwiddie and Irving connected as students of a Harvard business course during the summer of 2018.

Plus, Dinwiddie developed into a helluva basketball player.

“I’ve had a tough life, I think people can identify with it. A little quirky. I’m consistent, though. I think people can respect that at the end of the day,” Dinwiddie said. “You can be quirky but you always have to be yourself.

“I’m just me so I think people respect it and I make friends that way.”

Asked about telling Davis last season that Durant and Irving were coming to Brooklyn, Dinwiddie smiled and said, “I miss Ed.”

Forming a super duo is one thing, winning with it is the difficult part. Durant is shelved indefinitely because of the Achilles tear, although he’s never been officially ruled out for the season and a return is always possible. According to coach Kenny Atkinson, Durant, who is now seven months post-surgery, is “progressing fantastically.”

In the meantime, the Nets are trying to sort through their three-headed guard monster of Irving, Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert. It’s a duel task of working with each other and getting out of each other’s way. Wednesday’s loss to the Jazz was just the trio’s second game all together after Irving and LeVert returned from long injury absences.

There were promising moments — especially from Irving (32 points on 12-of-19 shooting) — but the Jazz was too big and physical.

“It’s an adjustment,” Irving said. “You have guys that you respect and you want to give them a lot of space and create different opportunities for one another and we just have to figure out a way to play better off one another.”

In many ways, recruiting Irving also meant Dinwiddie was recruiting a reduced role for himself. With Irving and LeVert injured for over a month, Dinwiddie controlled the ball and was making a push for an All-Star appearance. He’ll still get opportunities with his teammates back healthy, but the reality is there are only so many possessions and shots within 48 minutes.

Dinwiddie probably knew this dynamic was a possibility a year ago.

“We’re just going to go with the flow,” Dinwiddie said. “We’re just going to go with whoever is hot in the moment.”