CHICAGO — Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie can’t help himself.
In Chicago, as part of All-Star festivities in the Skills Competition on Saturday night, Dinwiddie trashed the Knicks again. The outspoken Brooklyn guard believes the Nets’ dominance over the Knicks will continue on and on, not really seeing a bright future for Manhattan’s team.
However, Dinwiddie admitted his club will never have more fans but they will always have more wins.
“We’ll never take over the Knicks,’’ Dinwidde said before Saturday morning’s press conferences. “That’s not going to happen. They’re too entrenched in what it means — Madison Square Garden, Rucker Park, that type of vibe.
“But in terms of being a better basketball team, that happened a minute ago. That’s not new. We’re a better basketball team than the Knicks. We were last year. Probably will be next year. It kind of what it is. So I know Knicks fans are going to get mad, but that is the truth.’’
The truth hurts. The Nets, despite Kevin Durant’s season-long recovery from a ruptured Achilles tendon, and Kyrie Irving’s stop-and-start season, are in position for the seventh seed in the playoffs, entering the All-Star Break at 24-25 having just ended Toronto’s 15-game winning streak.
The Knicks are 21 games under .500 (17-38), readying for another lottery trip and a seventh straight year out of the playoffs. They have an interim coach in Mike Miller, an interim president and just traded their best player, Marcus Morris.
Asked if he can see a brighter future for the rebuilding Knicks, Dinwiddie decided not to go politically correct.
“You want a real answer?’’ Dinwiddie said. “Probably not. They’ll probably have a high draft pick. Unless they do something via trade or via free agency, which I don’t know if this free-agency class is that spectacular, they’re probably not going to be that good. We’ll see. I can’t tell the future. But more than likely, I mean Kevin Durant is coming back [next season]. And he’s Kevin Durant. He’s really good.’’
Dinwiddie called Durant the hardest player to guard in the league, but now he’s just resigned to being an off-court leader during the post-break stretch run and playoffs. The Nets were eliminated in the first round last season.
“Anybody that has two Finals MVPs and an ample amount of championship experience, obviously he’s going to be a resource,’’ Dinwiddie said of Durant. “We definitely wish he was playing but that’s nothing you can control.’’
Irving stated last month he still thinks Brooklyn needs added pieces to contend for the Eastern Conference title. Dinwiddie isn’t going to embrace the notion.
“I’m not really part of the roster decisions,’’ Dinwiddie said. “So I just try to win the games with people that suit up that night. So I’m not necessarily privy to the inner workings of that.’’
Dinwiddie is never shy about his place in the league. Asked the biggest snub for the All-Star Game, Dinwiddie said, “Me.’’
Source: Read Full Article