We’ll be taking a look at each player under contract with the Pistons next season and uselessly discussing the merits of trading or keeping each individual. Because what else are we supposed to talk about right now?
Spencer Dinwiddie
To trade: As much as I’d like to come up with realistic scenarios/merits for trading every player in this series, what market could really exist for a guard who hit 19 percent of his threes for the season?
The case to trade Dinwiddie mostly boils down to the fact that the Pistons will likely have Reggie Jackson and a healthy Brandon Jennings back at point guard next season. Dinwiddie didn’t get a realistic crack at minutes until late in the season, and that only came as a result of significant roster shuffling/injuries. If Jackson re-signs and Jennings is healthy, and one of them adapts to a backup role, what realistic chance does Dinwiddie have of getting the minutes he needs to develop in that situation? Better to move him for a marginal prospect who plays a different position and stands a better chance at cracking the rotation.
Also, are you serious with that mustache?
Not to trade: Dinwiddie’s value at the moment is so minimal, the only trades that are plausible would probably yield a player with equally uninspiring production/experience. So what’s the point of shuffling cards for the sake of shuffling? Dinwiddie was coming off a serious injury and Stan Van Gundy obviously liked his abilities coming out of college. Why not run him back one more season and see if a year in the system and a full healthy offseason make a difference.
Dinwiddie’s passing was intriguing and he took pretty good care of the ball — he had a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. If his shooting stroke comes back after a good offseason, he could develop into at the very least a serviceable backup.
Also, even if Jennings is 100 percent and Jackson re-signs, there’s not exactly a guarantee that the pairing is going to work — neither of those guys strikes me as being very interested in a bench role. So if nothing else, Dinwiddie provides some minimal insurance of Jennings is traded.
Make it happen: Propose a plausible (i.e. fair or at least reasonable) for both sides using ESPN’s Trade Machine and publish it in the comments.
Pistons get:
- JaKarr Sampson
Sixers get:
- Spencer Dinwiddie
Rationale: Sampson gives the Pistons a strong, raw wing defender with good size. Dinwiddie gives the Sixers a marginal point guard prospect who probably wouldn’t do much worse than the Isaiah Canaan-Ish Smith two-headed monster they ran out after trading Michael Carter-Williams.
Also, I would accept: Spencer Dinwiddie for any future second round pick.
Your turn: Give me your best Dinwiddie trade, or make your impassioned plea to never consider trading him.