Former Wizards teammates Kyle Kuzma and Spencer Dinwiddie reheat 3-month-old beef

Jack Baer

The Washington Wizards didn't give us much this season, but they suddenly became the epicenter of one the NBA's most random and personal beefs Wednesday.

The beef features Kyle Kuzma, current Wizard, and Spencer Dinwiddie, former Wizard, and actually dates back to January, when the Wizards defeated Dinwiddie and the Dallas Mavericks. After the game, Dinwiddie pointedly said, "For them, it’s a showcase. They're over there trying to get paid, not trying to play winning basketball."

Kuzma, the most online member of the Wizards, responded as you might expect.

That could have been the end of it.

Instead, three months later, the good folks at FanDuel TV had Dinwiddie on their "Run It Back" show and asked him about his former teammate. Dinwiddie, now in the playoffs as a member of the Brooklyn Nets after the midseason Kyrie Irving trade, decided now was a good time to rip into Kuzma, who is a pending free agent and expected to land a major payday this offseason.

Dinwiddie's most direct criticism of Kuzma:

"If we look at [Kuzma] and the way he approaches life, fame, all that stuff, we can see that his priorities tend to vary. That's why he dresses the way he does, he approaches basketball the way he does, the comments he makes. Like I said with the Draymond quote, insecurity is loud. You know that you're there, shooting shots to try to get a contract. You’re probably not even a third star really on a good team, because if you were, the Lakers would have kept you. Part of the reason you left was try to make more money. These are all things that are facts.

"I played with the guy. We know what the priorities were."

Before we get into Kuzma's inevitable response, it might be worth noting Dinwiddie seems to have twisted himself in a bad way over Kuzma.

One, "You're probably not even a third star really on a good team" is a heck of a thing to say to a person who was the No. 3 scorer on the Los Angeles Lakers' 2019-20 championship team when you happen to be Spencer Dinwiddie. You might quibble with the validity of the bubble playoffs or whether Kuzma was a "star" on that team (star or not, he was legitimately good), but Dinwiddie probably wishes his postseason resume had quibbles like that.

Two, Dinwiddie directly contradicts himself in back-to-back sentences with "if you were, the Lakers would have kept you. Part of the reason you left was try to make more money." Kuzma was traded to the Wizards as part of the calamitous Russell Westbrook deal. He did not leave for more money. Also, using a trade as evidence someone isn't good enough to be a third star is, again, a heck of a thing to say when you yourself were traded two months ago.

Dinwiddie, who has been traded four times in his career, also said "You’ve been bounced around like a basketball my boy" to Kuzma, who has been traded once in his career.

OK, now back to Kuzma's response.

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - NOVEMBER 24: Kyle Kuzma #33 of the Washington Wizards talks to Spencer Dinwiddie #26 during the second half of a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on November 24, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
Kyle Kuzma and Spencer Dinwiddie are going at it again. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) (Jonathan Bachman via Getty Images)

Kuzma's thread, spanning several tweets, features a profane modification of Dinwiddie's last name, pointing out that Dinwiddie has bounced around much more than Kuzma in his career, noting how bad Dinwiddie was on the Wizards, confirms Kuzma is indeed getting "a bag" and has a laugh about Dinwiddie's past fondness for cryptocurrency.

Regarding the latter point, Dinwiddie was one of the loudest proponents of cryptocurrency back in 2021 and said he was personally invested in Bitcoin and other currencies, as you can see from this CNBC article. Bitcoin has gone down roughly 55% since that article was published.

It seems unlikely Dinwiddie will stay silent after what Kuzma just unleashed, so stay tuned.

Dinwiddie's Nets are scheduled to face the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the NBA playoffs, starting Saturday. We already know whom Kuzma is rooting for.

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