Vince Ellis

Detroit Free Press

NEW YORK – Spencer Dinwiddie didn't use a lot of cliches when he was with the Detroit Pistons. So it wasn't surprising that the young point guard skipped the part about thanking his former organization following the Brooklyn Nets' 98-96 victory over the Pistons on Tuesday.

Dinwiddie scored 10 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had four assists, and he watched Nets teammate Brook Lopez's baseline jumper at the buzzer deal a significant blow to the Pistons' playoff chances.

"It was up a little bit higher, and I thought, 'That's good. That's good money,' " Dinwiddie said of Lopez's winner. "And then you knew you were gonna beat the team that drafted you, traded you. I was a little bit happy."

Dinwiddie, 23, was asked whether he felt any extra satisfaction.

"Of course," he said. "If your first job fired you, and you came back and was like, 'What’s up, family; I’m with (my dream job) now.' I love everybody in the organization, it’s just great to beat them.”

Dinwiddie was the first draft pick of the Stan Van Gundy era, in 2014. At the time, the Pistons were attracted to his size and playmaking ability.

He was coming off of a knee injury at Colorado but showed flashes when given an opportunity as a rookie. He was forced to start against the Chicago Bulls right after 2015 trade deadline – after the acquisition of Reggie Jackson – and played well against Bulls star Derrick Rose. He also played well against the Washington Wizards.

But the writing was on the wall the following season, when he wasn't able to beat out an aging Steve Blake for playing time. He became disgruntled and was traded to the Bulls for Cameron Bairstow in June. The Pistons had no use for Bairstow, so the move likely came at the request of Dinwiddie and his agent.

Dinwiddie has managed to catch on with the rebuilding Nets and has been named the starting point guard for the rest of the season.

There were questions about Dinwiddie’s shooting ability in the past, but he’s shooting 38% from three-point range this season.

“It’s like a lot of things,” Pistons coach/president Van Gundy said before the game. “He didn’t really get an opportunity with us. He’s getting an opportunity to go out there and play every night and he’s playing well. He’s playing very, very well, and I’m happy for him.”

Contact Vince Ellis at vellis@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @vincent_ellis56.