Nets Spencer Dinwiddie speaks highly of team’s future with ‘bunch of good dudes’

Spencer Dinwiddie has seen the Nets at some of their best and worst moments as an organization over the course of his career. But the Nets’ guard is excited for the future of the franchise as Brooklyn moves beyond the superstar era.

Dinwiddie spoke glowingly about the core the Nets have going forward while appearing on the No Chill with Gilbert Arenas podcast this week. 

“I’m super excited,” Dinwiddie said about what Brooklyn was working towards. “I’ve been with the Nets six years out of my nine, roughly. I’ve been there for many different forms of the Nets, from when we were kind of the young upstarts — D’Lo and stuff. Then we had the max guys — KD and Kyrie. but now kind of like a more mature, kind of a ready-to-win core that probably needs a guy but probably within that range.

“I fully expect Cam to get his deal. I think they’re going to work that out. And I’m excited to push forward and try to compete given whatever the front office does.”

The Nets’ massive overhaul during last season has been well documented and despite trading away Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn still made the playoffs. They were quickly dispatched by the Philadelphia 76ers in four games, but there is some optimism that general manager Sean Marks can move the franchise in the right direction. 

Dinwiddie returned to Kings County as part of the deal for Irving. Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson played major roles for the Nets once they arrived, as did Dinwiddie. Johnson in particular had impressive showings during the postseason and Dinwiddie specifically spoke about what steps he had been able to take this season. 

“I think you saw a little bit in his time in Brooklyn,” Dinwiddie said. “He had the ball in his hands a little bit more, making plays out of pick-and-roll. I mean we already know he’s already an elite shooter and then I think just health for him too. He’s missed a lot of time with his shoulder, knee, whatever it is. If he can start to put together 60, 65-plus game seasons, I think sky’s the limit. There are not too many people who shoot 45% from three, got enough to get to the rim, get to the mid-range, and you know je’s 6’9” too.” 

While the struggles of integrating four new starters into the lineup had been discussed plenty in the past, Dinwiddie did credit the group for being a “bunch of good dudes” who had all won in the NBA before. Bridges, Johnson, Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith had all made deep runs in the postseason and understood what it took to get there.

“The easiest part of all that was that it was a bunch of good dudes who already came from winning cultures,” Dinwiddie said. “The Nets were already used to winning. The Suns obviously were winning at a high level and the guys from Dallas, me and Doe had already won and played at high level. Good, low-maintenance guys who had a clear vision of where we wanted to go. It didn’t always translate on the court because sometimes we’d be doing three different coverages and you guys know how hard that is.”