Buffs in the NBA: Spencer Dinwiddie has odd contract bonus after signing with Lakers
Former Colorado Buffaloes point guard Spencer Dinwiddie has found a new home with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Dinwiddie, who was averaging 12.6 points per game this season, was traded from the Brooklyn Nets to the Toronto Raptors at last week’s trade deadline. He was then waived by the Raptors, and after clearing waivers, signed with the Lakers for the remainder of the 2023-’24 season. Dinwiddie’s new contract with the Lakers also has a unique clause that would pay him a $1 bonus should the Lakers win the NBA Championship this season.
Yes, you heard that right!
Per Dinwiddie, the $1 bonus stems back to a three-year deal he signed with the Washington Wizards in 2021 and is a tie between him and his agent Jason Glushon of GSM.
Regarding his decision to sign with the Lakers over the Dallas Mavericks, Dinwiddie told The Athletic’s Jovan Buha the following:
“The two situations kind of felt like this: Let’s say you were a kid and you got your ass whupped by the bully,” Dinwiddie said after his first practice with the Lakers. “Dallas would’ve been like your momma being like, ‘It’s OK, baby. Don’t worry about it.’ Lakers are like your dad: ‘Nah, you better go out there and fight ‘til you win.’ You feel me? And I just felt like that was what I needed at the time.”
The 6-foot-5 points guard has roots in the Los Angeles area. He was born in Woodland Hills, Calif. and attended Taft High School before enrolling at the University of Colorado in 2011. In two and a half seasons with the Buffaloes, (he missed the last 18 games of the 2013-’14 season with an ACL injury) Dinwiddie averaged 13.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game. After electing to test the NBA waters following his Junior year in Boulder, Dinwiddie was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the second round (38th overall) of the 2014 NBA Draft.
The 30-year-old Dinwiddie is one of four former Colorado players – Alec Burks (New York Knicks), Jabari Walker (Portland Trail Blazers) and Derrick White (Boston Celtics) – currently playing in the NBA. He’s expected to make his Lakers debut tonight when Los Angeles hosts the Detroit Pistons at 10:30pm ET.
