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Spencer Dinwiddie tried to pay millions to sponsor Wizards jerseys

By Chase Hughes

Dinwiddie tried to pay millions to sponsor Wizards jerseys originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

Monday’s media day gave Spencer Dinwiddie his first opportunity to hold a press conference wearing his new Wizards jersey after signing with them last offseason. If he had it his way, there would have been a patch below the left shoulder promoting the cryptocurrency app he has invested in called Calaxy.

Dinwiddie insists he tried to sponsor the Wizards’ jerseys now that they have an opening following the expiration of their deal with Geico. He says the NBA denied his request due to rules preventing players from entering business relationships with owners due to conflict of interest.

“I wanted my company Calaxy to buy the jersey patch and do the partnership, but the NBA has rules against guys not having business deals with ownership and teams and that stuff. I thought it was a complete crock of BS because, like really, I would have paid full price for it,” Dinwiddie said.

“They were I think selling it for like $12 million or something like that. Like, bro I would pay that. Can I just put my jersey patch? That would be so baller, like, come to a new team [near] Capitol Hill, in a new jersey with a crypto patch on the jersey. But they shot that down, so the NBA be hatin’.”

Whether the money would have come from Dinwiddie’s salary or the company’s profits is unclear. He is due to make $17.1 million this upcoming season, so that would take away a majority of it.

The sponsorship, though, is more about advertising and exposure. Clearly, Dinwiddie’s looking for ways to get the word out about his product.

In previous interviews, Dinwiddie has suggested he might lobby some politicians on his cryptocurrency cause now that he’s playing in Washington, but on Monday he said basketball will come first.

“If we do our job, if we get Brad to sign the supermax, if we make the playoffs then, yeah, maybe I’ll go talk to [President Joe] Biden,” Dinwiddie said.

Well, Biden did technically come to a Wizards playoff game in 2017. Maybe if the Wizards make the postseason, they can catch up there.

Wizards finding a winning formula after winning six of seven

By Chase Hughes
Wizards finding a winning formula after winning six of seven originally appeared on NBC Sports WashingtonWASHINGTON -- Through the first few weeks of this season, the Wizards were hovering around .500, at times looking fairly good but without progress made in the two areas they struggled in the most last season; defense and 3-point shooting. But now winners of six of their last seven, Washington is starting to show significant improvement in both regards, making their recent surge even more encouraging.With a 10-7 record, the Wizards have reason for hope because they are getting stops and lighting teams up from long range. After Sunday's win over the Hornets, they now rank 6th in the NBA in defensive rating. Last year, they were 25th in the same category.Following a slow start shooting the ball, the Wizards are all of a sudden on fire from long range. Sunday was the 4th straight game they have made 13 or more threes. They previously set a franchise record by making 15-plus threes in four consecutive games. While they are still a relatively average 17th in 3-point percentage (35.2%), last year they were 25th (34.2%).Head coach Wes Unseld Jr. believes the two areas are related, even though they take place on opposite ends of the floor."Defensively I think we've been a lot better, a lot more disciplined. Our level of communication in general has been better. We're playing with a little more purpose. I know it's not always perfect, but I think it's lent to better offense, the uptick in threes. I think that all goes hand-in-hand," he said.One way defense can help the Wizards' offense involves pace. They can initiate offense much faster off rebounds and turnovers, rather than by inbounding the ball after their opponent makes a shot. The few extra seconds give other teams the ability to get their defense set.Sunday was a good example of how the Wizards' defense is thriving at the moment. They held Charlotte to 102 points on 39% shooting from the field and 8-for-32 from three. Terry Rozier, the Hornets' leading scorer, was held to eight points. He shot 3-for-14 overall and 0-for-6 from deep.The Wizards had 13 blocks as a team, which Unseld Jr. aptly said is a "high number." In fact, the Wizards hadn't had that many blocks in a game since 2018. Kristaps Porzingis had five blocks, while backup point guard Jordan Goodwin had three."Everyone is locked in and understands that we have to play defense every night," Kyle Kuzma said.When it comes to the defense, in particular, there may be a necessary caveat given what happened to the Wizards last season. This time one year ago, through 17 games, the Wizards were 11-6, one game better than they are this season. They were ranked even higher defensively, at fourth in the NBA in defensive rating.The Wizards would end up going 24-41 the rest of the way, having a mini firesale at the trade deadline and missing the postseason. The trick this time around will be keeping it up and proving this hot defensive start is not fool's gold.According to Kuzma, the Wizards' upcoming road trip will be a big test. They just won five of six during a season-long homestand, but now head to Miami to see the Heat twice, then to Boston to face the defending conference champions.The Wizards are 7-4 at home this season and 3-3 on the road. Meanwhile, 16 of their next 22 games are away from D.C."We're going to have to duplicate it. We have some tough road games coming up," Kuzma said. "If we want to be a good team in this league, we have to handle business on the road and create opportunity for us."The Wizards will have to prove themselves over time, but they are trending in the right direction and showing up well in the categories they are seeking to improve.
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