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Kings Rumors: Dewayne Dedmon to Sign 3-Year, $40M Contract in Free Agency
June 30, 2019
Free-agent center Dewayne Dedmon reportedly will agree to sign a three-year, $40 million contract with the Sacramento Kings once the free-agency moratorium starts Sunday evening, per Sam Amick of The Athletic.
Amick noted the third year will have a "partial guarantee."
The 29-year-old averaged 10.8 points and 7.5 rebounds in 25.1 minutes per night for the Atlanta Hawks during the 2018-19 season.
The former USC Trojan has bounced around the league since his rookie year in 2013-14, with Atlanta being his fifth team. Through his first four seasons, Dedmon never played more than 17.5 minutes per game.
However, Atlanta gave him a sizable chunk of minutes, and the 7-foot big man was productive.
Dedmon signing elsewhere after a fruitful stint in Atlanta shouldn't come off as an indictment of his performance for the Hawks.
Atlanta is in the midst of a long-term rebuilding process to get younger and build around a core of point guard Trae Young, power forward John Collins and shooting guard Kevin Huerter, who are each 20 or 21 years of age.
That effort began to pay some dividends, as the team had a 42.1 percent winning percentage following a 5-20 start. The Hawks aren't ready to contend for the playoffs just yet, but they look well on their way toward doing so shortly.
While Dedmon didn't fit in Atlanta's long-term picture, he should be an excellent asset for the Kings. Aside from his scoring and rebounding production, Dedmon fares well on the defensive end compared to his peers. ESPN ranked him 27th out of 67 qualified big men in defensive real plus-minus.
Dedmon has also added the three-point shot to his repertoire in recent seasons, knocking down 38.2 percent of them last year.
He figures to start at center—with Willie Cauley-Stein likely leaving via free agency—and can be a mentor to Marvin Bagley III, the second overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft who averaged 14.9 points and 7.6 rebounds in just 25.3 minutes per game last season.
Ultimately, Dedmon could be a significant part of the picture for a Kings team looking to get over the hump and make the playoffs after finishing one spot outside the top eight in the Western Conference last year.