LAS VEGAS -- Spencer Dinwiddie has been caught up in the twists of NBA fate for two years.
Dinwiddie was considered a near-lottery talent coming into his junior season at Colorado in 2014. Quick, athletic, with good feel for the game, he looked like a mid-first-round point guard with poise and considerable skill. Then, crushingly, he suffered a torn ACL and everything went haywire. His stock plummeted and there was widespread thought that he needed one more year to make the improvement necessary to ensure he would get guaranteed money in the first-round.
He jumped anyway, falling to Detroit with the 38th pick.
Dinwiddie managed to not only return from the injury by October, but wound up getting playing time his rookie season for Stan Van Gundy. He showed flashes of being a real NBA point guard, and managed to land the starting spot for a game. Things were on the up.
But when you're not an established player to which the franchise is committed, circumstances shift quickly. The Pistons wanted to make substantial gains last season, and did, reaching the playoffs. To get there, a coach like Van Gundy is going to want veterans. He moved for Steve Blake after Dinwiddie struggled in summer league. Brandon Jennings came back, and Dinwiddie ran out of chances. There were opportunities and Dinwiddie was unable to make the most of them, as a lot of young players fail to do.
"It was rough in Detroit," Dinwiddie told CBS Sports during Vegas Summer League, "because I felt like it was wrong place, wrong time. I had good games, I felt confident that I was supposed to be in the league, that I belong and that I'm good enough. But this league is a lot about opportunity as well. It can just be a couple chances here and there that's the difference between getting signed long-term and being out of the league."
Quietly, the Pistons traded Dinwiddie to the Bulls in June, acquiring third-string center Cameron Bairstow. The Bulls, after trading Derrick Rose, would've have two young backup point guards behind newly acquired Rajon Rondo, Dinwiddie and Jerian Grant, who was acquired in the Rose trade.
But then Dwyane Wade happened. Wade's addition meant that the Bulls needed to clear space, and so, just days before Dinwiddie was supposed to play on the Bulls' summer league squad with a chance to redeem a terrible 2015 performance, he was waived. Things bigger than him took over, again.
So it was surprising to see Dinwiddie, now unaffiliated, appear on the Bulls' summer league team, running the offense and looking much more comfortable as an NBA point guard. Dinwiddie averaged 12.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists for the Bulls in Vegas, playing less than 23 minutes per game, while shooting a not-terrible-for-summer-league 44 percent from the field.
"The biggest thing is to come out and help the team win," Dinwiddie said of his goals for summer league. "Anyone who's watched my game knows I can do a lot offensively. The big knock on me coming out of college was passing, but then I went out and had a 3-to-1 assist ratio. I've shown a more complete game, I just have to be able to put it together in consistent minutes."
For Dinwiddie, the tools are there, but everyone at this level has tools. For all the talk of the NBA being watered down, several execs mentioned at Summer League how many players they feel are on the outside looking in at the NBA who are legitimate NBA rotation players. The opportunity, fit, and all those other elements that have twisted Dinwiddie's career have to be in line.
Part of that is also minutes. Guards, in particular, have a hard time being able to show what they're capable of in spot time due to the complexity of the job. Bigs have primarily simple responsibilities: Finish at the rim, knock down spot-up shots, make a single post move, rebound, hustle, hustle, hustle. For guards, especially at summer league, you're managing teammates who have been together a few days, and each has a different priority and situation going in.
For a player like Dinwiddie, whose game is built on versatility, there has to be an opportunity to settle in, which is something that he hasn't been able to establish yet. When he's played well, it's been in limited minutes. When he's gotten more opportunities, his game hasn't come along. That synergy between the two is frustrating for a young player.
"You sputter when you play a few minutes one month, a few minutes the next. You never get into a consistent flow so you can put all the pieces of the puzzle together."
Chicago hasn't stepped back on their commitment to Dinwiddie, he says.
"[The Bulls have told me] just try and stay patient," the 23-year-old said. "They love me, my deal is an easy one to pick back up if the cards fall into place. So you know, just come out here and play. They were one of the teams that really liked me in the draft. When they traded for me, they said they had a plan for me, so I have to trust in that and just go out and play."
Dinwiddie isn't likely to be in a great spot going in, fighting to get his rookie deal picked back up and behind not only Rondo, but Grant, who has played well in his minutes. Summer League is a tough audition space for several reasons as listed above, but it was notable how much more comfortable Dinwiddie looked at guard. He was assertive without gunning, and showed the kind of patience in organizing the team on the floor that you need from a reserve guard.
"I feel very confident," Dinwiddie said. "I know I belong in the league."
Dinwiddie is a great example of the kinds of players who are working so hard in Vegas during Summer League, trying to make sense of chaos, and desperate to hold on to their opportunity and identity as an NBA player. After so many swings of fate beyond his control, Dinwiddie can only hope that headed into training camp in the fall, he'll have an opportunity for the basketball universe to finally align in his favor.
