Soaring Down South
Fansided

Dewayne Dedmon, Mike Muscala Re-Sign with Atlanta Hawks

By Chris Guest

PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 1: Dennis Schroder #17, Mike Muscala #31, Taurean Prince #12, and Dewayne Dedmon #14 of the Atlanta Hawks play against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center on November 1, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 1: Dennis Schroder #17, Mike Muscala #31, Taurean Prince #12, and Dewayne Dedmon #14 of the Atlanta Hawks play against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center on November 1, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

After an eventful 2018 NBA Draft night, the Atlanta Hawks came away with a very different-looking roster than what they had coming in to the offseason.

Though the team had the chance to select the most decorated European prospect of all time in Luka Doncic, instead they opted for a calculated risk in the selection of Trae Young – a player with an extremely high offensive upside but also the possibility of his lack of physical skills denying him the highest echelon of players in the NBA.

However, two players that will be returning from the 2017-18 season (one of which is rather shocking) are Dewayne Dedmon and Mike Muscala.

More from Soaring Down South

Both players decided to opt in to their 2018-19 player options after it was expected they might opt out (at least in Dedmon’s case) in order to test the market.

For a hardworking, athletic, rim-running seven-footer who showed an aptitude for stepping out and hitting threes in his most recent season such as Dedmon, it seems surprising that he did not at least attempt to procure another deal from a contending team.

Still, over $6 million guaranteed is not pocket change, and the market for big men is exceedingly saturated and thin this offseason, so Dedmon decided to play it safe and finish out the final year of his contract with the Hawks – possibly making him a solid trade chip for Atlanta before the trade deadline.

Dedmon had a career year in 2017-18, putting up career-highs per game in points (10), rebounds (7.9), assists (1.5), steals (0.6) field goals made (4) and attempted (7.7) and three-pointers made (0.8) and attempted (2.3).

Speaking of sweet-shooting big men, Mike Muscala has been on the Hawks since the 2013-14 season, making him one of the longest-tenured players on the team.

Muscala, who was hampered by a nagging ankle injury throughout the 2017-18 season, actually had one of his most productive campaigns last year due to having a bigger role on a depleted Hawks roster.

Like Dedmon, Muscala had multiple new career-highs during the 2017-18 campaign including points per game (7.6), rebounds per game (4.3), threes made (1.2) and attempted (3.2) per game, and he shot his best-ever percentage from the free throw line (91.9%) and second-best from deep (37.1%) on 50 more total threes taken from the field in 2017-18.

At this point, Muscala should be a Hawk for life, as he seems to enjoy it here, and the five-year veteran also makes for a terrific culture guy as well.

Next: Warriors of the East? Thoughts on Hawks 2018 NBA Draft

Stay tuned as more Hawks roster moves are announced as the team looks to obtain more draft picks to help fortify their rebuild.

Home/Hawks News