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Spencer Dinwiddie walked through the Lakers’ El Segundo practice facility on Sunday behind his son Elijah when it really hit him.
For the Los Angeles native and former Taft High star, signing with the Lakers was a childhood dream, but the gravity of the moment hadn’t totally hit, even when the Lakers hung two jerseys inside of his new locker — one for him and one for Elijah.
But as the 5-year-old scampered through Dinwiddie’s new office, it smacked him in the face.
“I was behind him and I was looking at ‘Dinwiddie 26’ and I was like, ‘Oh, damn.’ Like, ‘It’s real.’ You feel me?” Dinwiddie said Monday. “And for your son to be the reason you feel like it’s real, that was a really special moment.’
Homecomings aren’t always perfect — the Lakers’ last one with Russell Westbrook ended poorly — but something about playing here for this team at this moment appealed to Dinwiddie. After being traded from the Brooklyn Nets to the Toronto Raptors and then waived, he became the de facto best available free agent.
Read more: Plaschke: By staying pat at trade deadline, Lakers win and LeBron James loses
The Lakers hosted Dinwiddie on Friday after he met with the Dallas Mavericks the night before in New York. He arrived to watch the Lakers’ victory over the New Orleans Pelicans without having made a decision.
He spoke with his former teammates and friends on the Lakers, guys such as Christian Wood, Taurean Prince and Rui Hachimura, as he measured the vibe.
Ultimately, though, it was about something else.
“The two situations kinda felt like this, right? Let’s say you were a kid and you got your ass whooped by the bully. 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 till you win.’ You feel me?” Dinwiddie said. “And I just felt like that was what I needed at the time. You feel me? So I’m a big believer in kind of doing what you need to do at whatever time it is. So that’s how I felt about it.”
Dinwiddie averaged 12.6 points in 48 games with the Nets this season before being traded last…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/spencer-dinwiddie-chose-lakers-appealing-225142023.html
Author : LA Times
Publish date : 2024-02-12 22:51:42
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