Dinwiddie hurt by reports that Wizards wanted him out
Spencer Dinwiddie addressed rumors Saturday that suggested he wasn't a popular figure in the Washington Wizards' locker room before his February trade to the Dallas Mavericks.
"I think that's what hurt the most," Dinwiddie said, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon. "I've never bashed Washington. I've never said an ill thing about the team. In fact, I thank the owner or chairman Ted (Leonsis), I thank Tommy Sheppard the GM, and I thank (Bradley Beal) for those three kind of collectively deciding to give me my contract. They didn't have to pay somebody coming off an ACL.
"I'm appreciative of that, appreciative of my time there ... So to be bashed out on the way out the door hurt my feelings for sure. I think I'm human, of course."
Dinwiddie was sent to Dallas along with Davis Bertans in exchange for Kristaps Porzingis just minutes before the Feb. 10 trade deadline. However, the 28-year-old had signed a three-year deal with the Wizards during the offseason, which indicated he would factor significantly into the team's future.
Doubts about his fit in Washington surfaced in late January, when The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor reported the franchise was looking to move the guard. Days prior, Dinwinddie said he had tried to speak up as a leader earlier in the season but "it wasn't necessarily welcomed," according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports.
Dinwiddie said Saturday the Wizards told him to focus more on creating for his teammates rather than scoring. After averaging 17 points and six assists through his first 12 games in D.C., he tallied just 11 points and 5.8 assists per contest in his remaining 32 games with the Wizards.
"I was fighting through for those guys," he said. "When the role changed and they wanted me to pass more - they felt like I was scoring a lot - I did that.
"I took my foot off the gas scoring-wise because that's what they felt - the team needed to get (Kyle Kuzma) and (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope) and those guys shots. I said, 'Look, I already got paid. This is about y'all trying to get the shots that y'all need, whatever.'"
Dinwiddie is averaging 17.6 points and 5.1 dimes for the Mavericks, who have gone 6-1 with him in the lineup.