Atlanta Hawks: How Long Will Dewayne Dedmon Stay?

A look into the future of center Dewayne Dedmon as a member of the Atlanta Hawks. (Hint: It won’t be long).

The Atlanta Hawks played their first game of the preseason recently against the New Orleans Pelicans, notching a hard-fought and impressive victory as the Pelicans’ Julius Randle got a bit dinged up.

Multiple Hawks players also missed the game due to injury, such as Omari Spellman, Daniel Hamilton, Justin Anderson and, most importantly, likely starting center Dewayne Dedmon.

Dedmon had a breakout season last year as the Atlanta Hawks’ best option at center, notching career-highs in multiple categories, such as points per game (10), rebounds per game (7.9) and minutes per game (24.9).

Dedmon also discovered a long-dormant three-point stroke that, while a little slow, delivered rather impressive results for someone who had never shot more than -ahem- one in a season prior to the 2017-18 campaign, which saw him hoist up a total of 141 attempts at a 35.5 percent clip. Not shabby for a seven-footer!

With all that being said, there is no question that Dedmon’s presence on the Hawks will likely not last for long. As a player that is in his prime and creeping towards his post-prime, Dedmon should want to make a name for himself on a playoff roster this season – meaning that he will likely be traded by the Atlanta Hawks sooner rather than later.

NBC Sports’ Dan Feldman agrees, as he listed Dedmon with Kyle Korver, Courtney Lee, Marquese Chriss and Jimmy Butler (duh) as the five players most likely to be traded this season.

Certainly Dedmon has value to a team, as his $7.2 million deal expires this upcoming offseason, so the team that trades is not locked in to a weighty, overpriced contract.

With plenty of young, high-upside big men in the pipeline – John Collins, Omari Spellman – as well as a readily available starting-level replacement center in Alex Len on the roster, it seems Dedmon’s days in Atlanta are numbered.

He first has to return from injury with no ill effects, but once he does, the trade talks will likely begin in earnest.

Keep it locked to Soaring Down South for all your Atlanta Hawks news and updates as the preseason rolls on and the regular season gets closer and closer.