Getting equal value for Spencer Dinwiddie won’t be easy

It’s what every Nets fan wants: equal value for Spencer Dinwiddie in any sign-and-trade now that Dinwiddie has officially opted out of his contract. Pundits and reporters think that is not likely. Moreover, the Nets will get nothing if Dinwiddie chooses a team with cap space ... like the Knicks.

As Brian Lewis writes Thursday...

Such a deal probably would not bring back equal value, such as Kyle Kuzma or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope from the Lakers. Dealing with a capped-out team will be complicated due to base-year compensation and the hard cap. But a three-team swap could work, and could result in the Nets acquiring a draft pick (needed after the trade that brought Harden to Brooklyn) and a sizeable trade exception.

Both Dinwiddie and Sean Marks have spoken publicly about the possibility of an S&T.

“If Brooklyn wants to use my Bird Rights and sign me, I’d be thankful to be back and be able to go and try to win, hopefully, a second championship,” Dinwiddie said before the Nets lost to the Bucks. “And if not, then as an unrestricted free agent you can kinda choose where you wanna go. It’s an interesting situation to be in.”

“We’ll deal with Spencer when the time comes,” said Marks. “And, obviously Spencer has put himself in a position to secure his future long-term. We’d obviously love to play a role in that, whether that’s here or whether we can help them. But you know, we’ll focus on that at a later date.”

Also, Kristian Winfield has reported that Dinwiddie wanted to go “home,” presumably either the Lakers or Clippers, both of whom are over the cap and could be in need of a starting point guard. On the other hand, the Knicks have plenty of cap space and also need a PG.

Lewis’ colleague Marc Berman wrote Thursday that the Knicks have interest,

Full of personality, the combo guard spent five years trolling Knicks fans from Brooklyn. It sounded more like jealousy because of the attention the Manhattan franchise merits. Dinwiddie is a slight risk coming off an ACL tear at age 28. The Knicks have interest and can’t imagine the combo guard not wanting to bask in the Garden spotlight and stick it to his former team.

Beyond New York, Charlotte, Dallas, Oklahoma City and San Antonio are all projected to have the necessary cap space to sign Dinwiddie, Bobby Marks noted last week. But they all have starting point guards.

John Hollinger of The Athletic, in an off-season Q-and-A with Alex Schiffer, thinks there are several routes the Nets could take with Dinwiddie, just don’t expect him back ... and he thinks a sign-and-trade is unlikely.

Dinwiddie is gonzo. The only thing I wonder with him is if there’s an angel for the Nets to insert him into a sign-and-trade. A sign-and-trade of another player contract strikes me as fairly unlikely, but if Dinwiddie goes to a cap room team, the Nets could execute a sign-and-trade just to generate a large trade exception for him that could be used later (for example, by acquiring a player at the trade deadline). Given how few options the Nets have available to acquire players making above the minimum, turning Dinwiddie into a TPE becomes kind of important and is almost certainly worth dumping a future second-round pick.

There’s no shortage of potential deals rolling around out there. Here’s one Bobby Marks (no relation) proposed as part of an ESPN panel.

Would Dinwiddie want to go back to Chicago? He helped arrange a deal to the Bulls back before he joined the Nets.

How soon would we expect talks on a sign-and-trade to intensify? Before the July 29 Draft, probably. Dinwiddie can sign a free agent deal a week later.

• Nets have options when it comes to Spencer Dinwiddie’s future - Brian Lewis - New York Post
• Different ways Knicks can solve their point guard mess - Marc Berman - New York Post
• Schiffer and Hollinger: Two Jersey guys talk big three contracts, the draft and the Brooklyn Nets’ crucial offseason - Alex Schiffer with John Hollinger - The Athletic New York