Lakers have interest in bringing back former 20-ppg scorer?

Apr 22, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; The Los Angeles Lakers logo at center court during game three of the 2023 NBA playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Lakers are searching for ways to improve a roster that lost in the first round of the playoffs this year, and they may have interest in bringing back a notable veteran.

LeBron James took roughly $3 million less than the maximum when he signed his new contract with the Lakers last week. The reason for that is that the 39-year-old wanted to keep L.A. below the second apron and help pave the way for them to use the $5.2 million taxpayer midlevel exception on a veteran player.

Shams Charania and Jovan Buha of The Athletic reported on Sunday that Spencer Dinwiddie is a name to watch if and when the Lakers part with the necessary veteran minimum contracts to free up the midlevel exception.

Dinwiddie signed with the Lakers in February after he was traded by the Brooklyn Nets and waived by the Toronto Raptors. He appeared in 28 regular-season games with L.A. and made four starts. Dinwiddie averaged 6.8 points and 2.4 assists while playing 24.2 minutes per game.

The 31-year-old Dinwiddie also played in all five of the Lakers’ postseason games against the Denver Nuggets. He averaged 3.0 points and played 14.6 minutes per game in the series.

Dinwiddie can be a solid scorer off the bench, which is something the Lakers need. He averaged 20.6 points per game with the Brooklyn Nets in 2019-20. While he is not the type of player who would make a huge impact, he is capable of contributing and is already familiar with L.A.