NBA: Spencer Dinwiddie signs with hometown Los Angeles Lakers

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FILE–Brooklyn Nets’ Spencer Dinwiddie reacts during an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Spencer Dinwiddie signed Saturday with his hometown Los Angeles Lakers, finding a new team quickly after getting traded by the Brooklyn Nets.

The point guard was traded by the Nets to Toronto on Thursday and then was waived. He cleared waivers Saturday and by then had already made up his mind that he was going back to Los Angeles.

“Spencer is returning to his roots and the city where his journey began. … His play-making and aggressiveness from the guard position provides us valuable depth as we continue our strong push toward the back half of the season,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said in a social media post showing some of Dinwiddie’s highlights.

Dinwiddie started 48 games this season for the Nets, averaging 12.6 points and 6.0 assists. He had returned for his second stint in Brooklyn just before last year’s trade deadline, coming from Dallas as part of the package for Kyrie Irving.

The Mavericks were also believed to be interested in a reunion with Dinwiddie, who attended their game against the Knicks in New York on Thursday night.

But the 30-year-old Dinwiddie instead is heading to the city where he was born and graduated from William Howard Taft High School. The Lakers weren’t able to upgrade their roster with any trades before Thursday’s deadline but scored quickly in the buyout market.

He figures to back up D’Angelo Russell, a former teammate in Brooklyn who scored 30 points Friday in a 139-122 victory over New Orleans with Dinwiddie in attendance sitting next to Pelinka.