Spencer Dinwiddie 'happy' that the Dallas Mavericks collapsed following mid-season trade
Spencer Dinwiddie made an appearance on FanDuel TV and sent some shots at his former team.
Spencer Dinwiddie is doing what the Dallas Mavericks aren't — prepping for the playoffs.
Dinwiddie, a member of the 2022 Western Conference Finals Mavericks team, was traded mid-season alongside Dorian Finney-Smith for All-Star guard Kyrie Irving. It was a trade Dallas felt it needed to make. And it was a move many labeled as a sign of desperation.
Since that deal, the Mavs floundered and missed the NBA postseason, while the Brooklyn Nets locked up the six-seed in the Eastern Conference and are gearing up for a run in the 2023 playoffs. Recently, Dinwiddie went on FanDuel TV (10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT, Monday-Wednesday) and offered his opinion on the irony of the Mavs missing the postseason after dealing him to Brooklyn. And though he did divulge the pettier side of him was happy, he still cared about the friends he'd made while playing in Dallas.
"I ain't going to lie, there is a certain level of happiness from the pettier side of my psyche," Dinwiddie said on FanDuel TV. "They are my friends though. I didn't want to see it go down like that. On the other side, Theo [Pinson], [Reggie] Bullock, Luka [Doncic], JaVale [McGee], we went to war together. They are a playoff-caliber team. Obviously, they had their mishaps that didn't allow them to see the postseason. But, overall, I wanted them to do well. But there is that little piece that, I am not going to lie, I am a little bit happy."
In 53 games with Dinwiddie during the 2022-23 season, the Mavericks were 28-25.
During Mavs general manager Nico Harrison's end-of-season press conference, he spoke candidly when discussing the deal, stating that the Mavericks weren't a great team before the trade, so it was worth the risk.
"I didn’t know if this would be like a magic pill. I don’t think I had any visions of that," Harrison said. "But I figured it couldn’t be worse than what it was. I also looked at it as a long-term play, not a short-term play."
Dinwiddie's comments aside, the Mavericks' focus has shifted to retaining Irving, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. Harrison felt optimistic about the chances of re-signing Irving, and the Mavs' general manager cited a conversation he shared with the star guard during their exit interview.
Doncic also wants to see Irving return, despite the 5-11 record the Mavs held when both played.
"It takes time," Doncic said on Sunday.
The trade may not have worked out in the immediate future, but if Dallas can secure Irving on a long-term deal while adding talent around them, it isn't a far stretch to say this team would be playoff-bound again.
For now, however, Dinwiddie gets the last laugh.
