Spencer Dinwiddie signed with the Wizards after five seasons with the Nets, as he will become their new starting point guard next to Bradley Beal.
“Being able to co-lead a team with Beal, and also learn from a guy who’s at a level that I’m not at yet — superstar Bradley Beal … it’s an extremely attractive place to be,” Dinwiddie said.
Dinwiddie humbly deferred to Beal as the franchise’s cornerstone superstar, but he even took it a step further and discussed his potential dynamic with the runner-up for the leading scorer in the league last season.
“I don’t think (Beal) is going to experience any on-court friction from me,” Dinwiddie said. “We know what it is. He can score the ball in waves and do some special things out there and it’s my job to get out the way when I need to get out the way and try to help enhance whenever I can help enhance.”
The point guard position in Washington has been held down by Gilbert Arenas, John Wall and Russell Westbrook for over the last 15 years, so Dinwiddie will have huge shoes to fill in the nation’s capital.
“I’m not Gilbert, John or Russ. Those are all dudes with very interesting personalities,” Dinwiddie said. “You’ve got some of the best players — obviously Russ, one of the best players to ever play in terms of the triple-doubles. You’ve got Gilbert, one of the best scorers of all time. You’ve got John, who had an extended run when you could argue he was the best point guard in the league.”
As for what he could bring differently than those three superstar point guards before him, the cryptocurrency expert has an idea in mind.
“I think I’ll be the first point guard in D.C. history to possibly lobby senators about Bitcoin. We can go with that,” Dinwiddie said. “But in all seriousness, I think just my style of play is very different from them. Like I said, I respect everything that they did, but what I want to be known for is winning, and that’s what I hope to bring to the franchise.”
Dinwiddie had plenty of suitors in free agency, but Wizards GM Tommy Sheppard’s pitch seemingly stood out to him the most.
“Tommy Sheppard, in the meeting, talked about how much he believed in me, which meant a ton,” Dinwiddie said. “It sounds kind of cliche, but all I’ve ever wanted to be is feel loved.”
