The market for NBA buyouts in 2024 is already heating up.
Top veteran pieces like centre Bismack Biyombo are already off the board after your Los Angeles Lakers locked up free agent LA native point guard Spencer Dinwiddie to a $1.5 million rest-of-year contract earlier today.
However, the most well-known player available for a buyout, six-time All-Star, one-time champion, and likely future Hall of Famer Kyle Lowry, is now also taken.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Lowry has worked out a buyout of his contract with the Charlotte Hornets and intends to play for the Philadelphia 76ers, his home team.
In other words, by signing Dinwiddie to a contract, Los Angeles gave the 6’5″ Colorado prospect more weight than Lowry, who has been past his prime since joining the Miami Heat.
Will this be a choice the Purple and Gold come to regret?
To put it plainly, no. Even on a team in dire need of point guard assistance, Lowry was occasionally practically unplayable by the time his stint with the Heat came to an end. He was also reduced to a bench duty. Despite having a poor season, Dinwiddie, 30, did start every game for the Brooklyn Nets that he was available to play in before being traded to the Toronto Raptors and then released. His percentage of three-pointers made has dropped to only 32% on 5.8 attempts. If that efficacy (40.4% and 40.5%) returns to what it was during the Dallas Mavericks period, he will be an extremely dangerous player off the bench who supports D’Angelo Russell.
