Kings: Dewayne Dedmon Functioning As The Four On Offense

The Atlanta Hawks often put Dewayne Dedmon in the role of a stretch-four offensively. Expect the same from the Sacramento Kings in order to compliment Marvin Bagley.

I have been an advocate for Dewayne Dedmon to come to the Sacramento Kings since at least the middle of last season and could not be more thankful that the wishes have come to fruition. He is the perfect compliment to Marvin Bagley on the offensive end of the floor — as the Kings stretch-four.

Yes, Sacramento desperately needed a starting center this offseason, and that is what they brought Dedmon in play. Defensively, that will undoubtedly be the case. Offensively though, the ideal role is for him to play the four to best utilize the talent alongside him in Bagley.

Plenty, myself included, have pointed out Dedmon’s mesmerizing three-point numbers of 38% overall and 43% from the corners last season. Few have mentioned his lack of a back to the basket game, with only 11 post-up possessions last season, per Synergy, with a 28.6% completion rate. The good news is, Sacramento doesn’t need him to be posting up and creating his own shot.

Bagley can handle those duties if need be. The second-year talent has all the tools to become unstoppable at attacking the rim: elite athleticism, agility, touch, and length. Bagley should be placed in ideal situations to use those talents as he develops. Rolling to the rim is right in his wheelhouse and is a skillset you traditionally see centers posses in their offensive repertoire while others on the floor supplying spacing.

Possible Offensive Sets

Double drags and horns sets that are extremely common in today’s game use this logic. The basic rundown of a horns set is two players (usually the 4 and 5) screen for the ball handler at the top. One of the screeners pops out and the other to roll. Usually, the center would be the one to roll while the forward would pop out to the three-point line to create space and cause difficult decisions for the tagger on defense. Due to their skillsets, however, it would be logical for Bagley to be the man rolling, and for Dedmon to pop.

If the opposing defense chooses to focus on the roller, then the one popping is left wide open and vice versa. As you watch the clips below, imagine Marvin Bagley taking the place of John Collins aside Dedmon and De’Aaron Fox being the one dishing out these assists rather than Trae Young.

If the defense does not effectively tag the roller (Collins/Bagley) due to the threat of Dedmon’s deadly long ball and needing to slow the ball-handler, it’s an easy basket at the rim. If they switch, it’s barbeque chicken. Every one of these Collins finishes could easily have been converted in the same fashion by Bagley.

Last year, with Bagley and Willie Cauley-Stein on the floor together running these actions,  Cauley-Stein had to be the roll man as he does not have the touch or the gravity to justify him popping out — even if he thinks otherwise. There were plenty of instances when the lane was clogged for Bagley whilst sharing the floor with Cauley-Stein.

Creating Matchup Problems

Something to note is that Dedmon regularly positioning himself beyond the arc and allowing Collins to roll meant that the defense would have their center guarding Collins and their four in charge of keeping an eye on Dedmon on the perimiter. As mentioned earlier, Dedmon is not a player that is likely to post up and take advantage of the smaller player, and Bagley will likely struggle against the likes of Rudy Gobert or Jarrett Allen.

But Bagley loves to face up and take his matchups off the dribble, and a slower footed center defender should allow him to blow by with an assertive first step and get to the basket. Or, if the big is too concerned with the drive, Bagley has no issue pulling the mid-range look if it’s there — he ranked in the 83rd percentile from there last season at 46.5%.

Bagley also flashed his potential to extend that range a few steps further back, being 39% from three in his 19 games post-all-star break. He should not and will not be exclusively limited to being the roll man.

The same can be said for Dedmon’s versatility, he was successful in his own right as the one rolling.

Final Thoughts

That is the real beauty of this pairing offensively. The defense can usually predict who will be the roller and who will be the popper as the play is being set up, but it will be a mystery with the Dedmon and Bagley pairing until it is in action.

In the end, the main pull to desiring Bagley to play the five comes on the offensive end and he has the potential to be a top roll man in the league. This season, he will have a chance to do so with a more ideal frontcourt pairing and increased opportunity.

Defensively, there are legitimate worries about Bagley’s rim protection, while Dedmon has succeeded there. I believe that Dedmon will mainly be utilized as a stretch-four on offense and the classic rim-protecting big on defense.

If Fox can continue to improve his vision and decision making as we assume, then opposing defenses are going to be left scrambling. The Dedmon-Bagley frontcourt pairing is a match made in heaven and will allow Bagley to get run as a center on the offensive end, with the new signing filling the role of a modern stretch-four.