NBA Rumors: Snubbed By Team USA, Nets Star Taking Act To Nigeria

Though Spencer Dinwiddie of the Brooklyn Nets has been doing well with key stars absent, this was not enough to at least get an invite to Team USA for the Tokyo Olympics. Regardless, this has not stopped the 27-year-old from undertaking other things to possibly see basketball action at the games.

According to a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic, Dinwiddie is acquiring a Nigerian passport for him to play for Nigeria. Once made official, this means that the Nets guard will join a list of other NBA players on the team. That includes Al-Farouq Aminu, Josh Okogie, Chimezie Meto and Ekpe Udoh. Nigeria clinched a spot for the Olympics when they won Group M of the FIBA World Championships.

And while Charania cited sources, Dinwiddie appeared to confirm the move via Twitter in response to the report from The Athletic. Mike Brown is the coach of the Nigerian team that will see action at the Olympics which was rescheduled for next year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, ESPN reported.

In the NBA, Dinwiddie has been the subject of constant trade rumors with the Nets expected to have most of their stars back next season. He, along with Caris LeVert, are seen as possible players moving out with several teams interested.

In a previous post, it was mentioned how the Orlando Magic and his former team, the Detroit Pistons, were interested in taking in the 6-foot-5 guard. A likely reason for this is his performance in the 2019-20 NBA season.

Dinwiddie has played in 64 games averaging 20.6 points, 6.8 assists, and 3.5 rebounds. These are notable jumps in numbers for the 38th overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft who started stepping up his game with the Nets since the 2017-18 season.

The 27-year-old guard signed a three-year $34 million deal with the Nets this season which will keep him in Brooklyn until 2022. However, the pact includes a player option before the 2021-22 season. Dinwiddie could opt out of the $12.3 million due to him in that final year.

Dinwiddie is one of several NBA stars who are waiting if the current season will still resume or not. The Nets were at 7th spot of the Eastern Conference standings, just half-a-game ahead of the Orlando Magic. Even if they qualify for the playoffs, Brooklyn faces tall odds since they are likely to face either the Milwaukee Bucks or the Toronto Raptors, depending on the final standings of the 2019-20 season.