NY Knicks: 3 free agents NY should have pushed harder for this offseason
Would you have wanted the NY Knicks to pursue Spencer Dinwiddie more heavily?
I’ll begin this slide by saying I’m much happier with the Knicks signing Kemba Walker over going after Spencer Dinwiddie.
But that’s only if we get at least 80% of what Kemba once was.
If the Knicks get a rejuvenated and revitalized Kemba Walker, I’m throwing out everything that I’m about to say.
But the issue here is, we don’t know exactly what version of Kemba will show up this season.
Of course, the optimist in me says we’re going to get the Cardiac Kemba of old and we won’t have to be concerned about his health whatsoever.
But there’s no guarantee that will happen.
And yes, I Know Spencer Dinwiddie is also coming off of a pretty bad injury himself but he doesn’t have the track record that Kemba has.
There also aren’t many more Point Guards in the league today that fit what Thibs asks of the guys playing that position for him than Dinwiddie does.
My colleague Adam Kester touched on the pros and cons of the Knicks acquiring Dinwiddie this offseason in a recent article:
"At 6’5, he has terrific size for a guard and he moves with outstanding body control. Thibodeau loves an attacking point guard, and Dinwiddie brings a physical attitude to the position. He loves going to the rim and embracing contact. From Cleaning The Glass: In the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons, Spencer Dinwiddie ranked #2 and #1 of any player in the NBA in fouls drawn per shot attempt. In that 2019-20 season, Dinwiddie posted an impressive 20.6 points and 6.8 assists per game. It’s easy to forget about just how good he is after not seeing him play since December, but he has a really nice balanced point guard game on offense. It’s not easy to put up 20 and 6 in this league. He’s not a known defensive maestro, he typically ranks in the middle of the pack for perimeter defender metrics. Still, you’d have to think Thibodeau would get a lot of a 6’5 guard. Spencer Dinwiddie has the size, strength, and lateral quickness to be an effective perimeter defender under Thibodeau."
Although he’s not the best shooter, he’s been at least serviceable from deep for his career but as Adam mentioned, what the Knicks and more importantly Thibs would love about having Dinwiddie would have been his ability to attack the rim and draw fouls.
One of the best in the league in that department.
If I had to guess, Leon Rose and Co. considered Dinwiddie but when his asking price was too rich for their blood, they pivoted towards other options.
Again, if the Knicks get even 80% of the best version of Kemba Walker, I’m taking that all day over today’s version of Spencer Dinwiddie at 100% health at an annual average salary of $18 million.
Had the Knicks been able to get him for something in the realm of $12-13 million per season with a team option, it may have changed my mind.