First Honorable Mention: Dewayne Dedmon
There is no question that Dewayne Dedmon was one of the best players on the Atlanta Hawks last year, and he will continue to fill that same role next season as well.
Though he is currently out with an injury (and likely will be for a little while to start the season), Dedmon has seemed extremely engaged on the bench and seems like a good bench presence for a young team with low expectations.
However, as the Bleacher Report piece notes, Dedmon’s skill set, which now includes a very nice-looking three-point jumper, would be useful for almost any competing team in the league – not so much a team that is thoroughly devoted to the tank like the Hawks are – as the piece entails:
“Dewayne Dedmon would get more applause under different circumstances. He helps the Hawks win. They’re trying to lose. He enters 2018-19 as trade bait whose expansive usefulness will be obfuscated by an overt tank.”
Dedmon will be brought back from injury slowly so that he doesn’t lose any trade value. Since he’s an expiring deal with good size, good defensive instincts and a blossoming three-point jumper, most contenders will come calling for Dedmon before the deadline.