Dewayne Dedmon Confirms Trade Request; NBA to Investigate Public Demand

Sacramento Kings center Dewayne Dedmon confirmed Sunday he's requested a trade to a team where his "talents are appreciated."

Dedmon told Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee he's made his desire known to the front office after being informed he won't be playing a consistent role with the Kings.

"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."

He added: "I appreciate [the Kings' investment in me]. I definitely appreciate it, but I want to be somewhere where I get to play. That's my biggest thing. I'm trying to play and I've been told I'm no longer in the rotation here, so there's really nothing to wait on."

Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported the NBA will investigate the public trade request.

The league fined Los Angeles Lakers power forward Anthony Davis $50,000 last season when he was with the New Orleans Pelicans after his agent, Rich Paul, publicly discussed his trade request.

Dedmon has played just 13.6 minutes per game across 23 appearances for the Kings, who signed him to a three-year, $40 million contract in July.

He's averaged 4.8 points and 3.8 rebounds while shooting 41.9 percent. Those numbers are a sharp decline from last year with the Atlanta Hawks when he averaged 10.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks with a 49.2 shooting percentage in 64 games.

"I'm not the only person struggling with my shot, so if that's a factor, then it's kind of crazy," Dedmon told Anderson. "If you're not allowed to shoot through your slumps, I don't know how you're supposed to make shots."

The 30-year-old USC product is a career 52.7 percent shooter. He made 38.2 percent of his three-point attempts last year in Atlanta, but that figure has dropped to 22.9 percent this season.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Friday "multiple teams" had already reached out to the Kings with offers for Dedmon, even before he went public with the request.

So far, there's been no sign a trade is imminent. It's unclear whether Dedmon's coming forward to discuss the situation will change that.