Spencer Dinwiddie denied any notion he ever requested a trade from the Nets. He called that rumor "really dumb."
Dinwiddie, who was caught off-guard by the question during a Zoom conference call with reporters on Friday explained he felt he could have commanded more money as a free agent, but opted to sign at a lower number — three years, $34 million — to stay in Brooklyn.
"I don't know anybody that takes less than market value to stay on a team that wants to be traded, you know," he said. "That'd be bad for business. That would kinda be really dumb."
Dinwiddie is at the peak of his ascent to a premier NBA point guard. Last season he tallied career highs of about 21 points and seven assists per game, almost single-handedly keeping the Nets afloat in the playoff race when both Kyrie Irving (shoulder) and Caris LeVert (thumb) each missed more than 20 games due to injury.
Dinwiddie's name, however, has been mentioned in trade rumors this season — as has nearly every other Net not named Kevin Durant or Irving in the aftermath of James Harden's not-so private trade request from the Houston Rockets, specifically to Brooklyn.
