What Went Wrong With Dewayne Dedmon?

Dewayne Dedmon was seen as a perfect fit for the Sacramento Kings during the most recent off season, yet it quickly became apparent that it wasn’t working.

Nemanja Bjelica started 70 games for the Sacramento Kings in 2017-18 at the corresponding position as the recent number two selection of the NBA Draft in Marvin Bagley III. The issue was spacing, with the main culprit being Willie Cauley-Stein functioning as the team’s primary center. Free agent Dewayne Dedmon was intended to aid that matter as the “perfect” fit alongside Bagley. Dedmon’s time would prove to be as far from perfect as possible, and there were multiple contributing factors, some more explainable than others.

Many were elated that Sacramento signed Dedmon to a three-year $40-million deal in the off season, myself included, even if it did seem to be above market value at the time. The logic was sound: Dedmon shot 38% from three the season before in Atlanta and could protect the rim at an above-average level. It would allow Marvin Bagley to function as the five on offense, while Dedmon spaced out, and the four on defense. Notice how the entire argument revolves around Bagley.

What Went Wrong?

The 2019-20 season opener debuted a Bagley/Dedmon front court pairing, where the Kings were blown out by the Phoenix Suns. That was the first and only time Sacramento would roll out a starting lineup featuring both Bagley and Dedmon. Bagley suffered a fractured thumb in that game and by the time he had recovered, Dedmon lost his starting position to a surprise savior in Richaun Holmes.

In his opening four games as the starting center, per basketball-reference, Dedmon averaged 6.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.5 turnovers on 34.6% (9/26) from the field and 18.2% (2/11) from three. A subpar start to say the least, but players have bad stretches of games often and it could be written it off as an understandable adjustment period. Dedmon was benched in favor of Holmes, which plausibly would not have taken place if Bagley remained healthy. He would see barely four minutes of playing time in his fifth game, serving as a sign of what was to come.

Dedmon, in theory, needed Marvin Bagley and vice versa. Yet, Dedmon’s long ball never came around while he came off the bench throughout the following 17 games of the season. His turnovers remained a serious concern in notably sporadic minutes as well. By the time Bagley returned to play, Dedmon was regularly watching the entirety of games from the comfort of his front-row seat — recording 10 DNP-CD in 12 games, with the two outliers occurring during garbage time.

Dedmon chose to publicly express his discomfort to the fullest and was candid in his intentions, requesting out of Sacramento before the change of the calendar.

"“I would like to be traded,” he said. “I haven’t been playing, so I would like to go somewhere where my talents are appreciated.”"

Final Thoughts

Sure, the long ball that was such a highly valued aspect of Dedmon’s game was nowhere to be seen, but the rim protection was there – Richaun Holmes just was better at it while also being an impact player on offense. To his credit, Dedmon’s attitude was outstanding on all accounts, including post-trade request.

Fair or not, Dedmon’s career in Sacramento was formulated around Marvin Bagley and that duo played 16 total minutes together the entire season – mainly due to Bagley being sidelined for all but 13 games. With Bagley out and Dedmon’s rough shooting start, it was challenging justifying him getting minutes over the surging Holmes or the potential long-term piece in Harry Giles.

Though the trade took some time to go through, Dedmon was eventually shipped back to Atlanta from the Kings after being dealt an unreasonable hand in Sacramento. The shooting could have returned, albeit he did shoot just 22% over ten games for the Hawks, but the primary subject was his heavy reliance on Bagley and his inability to remain healthy during the season.