Atlanta Hawks’ starting center Dewayne Dedmon recorded his first minutes as a Hawk on Sunday evening, showing great promise in a productive debut.
Acquired from the San Antonio Spurs this offseason, Dewayne Dedmon will be a key piece in Mike Budenholzer’s rotation this season as the team seeks to rebuild and have a reliable player holding down the frontcourt while educating the team’s youth.
His outing against the Miami Heat and fellow D-League alum Hassan Whiteside provided Hawks fans with some spectacular highlights. Although only preseason, Dedmon came out with a winning mentality and really displayed his presence on the court during his 15 minutes.
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Dedmon was joint top scorer for the Hawks with 12 points on 5/7 shooting on the night coupled with 3 boards, and 2 steals. He was particularly impressive on the offensive end and played a very nice two-man game with Kent Bazemore. Several times in the night he would set a high pick and roll to the basket for a slam dunk or get fouled on the way.
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Despite a +/- score of -10 on the night, he was allowed the opportunity to showcase his talents for Coach Bud and ensure the organization that he will be the man they need this season. Dedmon’s contract is such that next year he can choose to opt out and become a free agent once again, so this year will be huge for his career moving forward.
When the Hawks picked him up from the Spurs this offseason, many felt that it was a calculated move to simply fill the roster and allow him to leave next offseason and free up the cap space to bring more talent to the squad. So far, Dedmon is well on his way to proving them wrong.
Of course, the emphasis that Travis Schlenk has placed on the team moving forward is building through youth. Rookie sensation John Collins seems to be at the very heart of that, but Dedmon is probably one of the best possible mentors for the young man in terms of getting him adjusted to life in the NBA.
The Hawks’ ties with the Spurs, one of the most well-run franchises in the association, are duly noted, and Dedmon arriving from that organization after playing under one of the best coaches in Gregg Popovich will only strengthen the culture that Schlenk is trying to build in Atlanta. His experience is invaluable, but when it’s paired with the tenacity and grit that he showed on the court against the Heat, it will only serve to benefit the team.
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Dewayne Dedmon is by no means just another player on the roster; he has come to Atlanta to try to start something, and over the next year Hawks fans and NBA fans alike will all see that he belongs in the NBA ranks and is a coveted piece of the Hawks lineup.