KEY POINTS

  • Dinwiddie may be taking a big risk if he opts out of the deal with the Nets
  • NBA teams may consider Dinwiddie’s injury before pitching an offer
  • Dinwiddie knows his market value is more than what the Nets are offering

Spencer Dinwiddie hardly saw action last NBA season for the Brooklyn Nets after suffering a partially torn ACL.

There were murmurs he could return to action if the Nets made the NBA Finals. But most know by now that all that has been scorned.

The Nets bowed to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semi-finals, dashing all hopes of making a finals appearance.

Despite a souped-up lineup, Giannis Antetokounmpo and company would not be denied. But what does this mean for Brooklyn?

For a team that has Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden, it would be hard to see someone like Dinwiddie getting the same exposure he had before these All-Stars got on board.

His playing time and production are expected to decrease. Hence, it hardly comes as a surprise that he may decline the $12.3 million option for next season.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the 28-year-old guard plans to decline that option and test free agency.

Although it is not yet official, the point here is that Dinwiddie could be better off taking his talent elsewhere.

"I'm gonna be more than healthy by the time free agency starts, so just from a dollars perspective you kind of have to," Dinwiddie told Shlomo Sprung of Forbes. "$12 million isn't market value for a starting point guard. It's probably about half, 20-25. So obviously it's pretty concrete that I'm gonna opt out."

Before the Nets assembled their own "Big Three," Dinwiddie was putting up good numbers. He averaged 20.6 points and 6.8 assists during the 2019-20 season.

Spencer Dinwiddie
Spencer Dinwiddie of the Brooklyn Nets reacts during the third quarter of the game against the Boston Celtics at Barclays Center on Jan. 14, 2019 in Brooklyn. Sarah Stier/Getty Images

In the three games that he played, the 6-foot-5 guard managed only 6.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3 assists in 21.3 minutes of action. It was a big dip from his past three seasons with the Nets.

While he is a proven commodity, there is that torn ACL injury that other teams are worried about.

His market value is forecasted to be higher, but he needs to bounce back and show that he still has the chops to back it up.

Declining the option is understandable, but the timing could be bad. It is a gamble on the part of Dinwiddie.

But for now, it would be best to see if he is determined to opt-out and test NBA free agency this summer.

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