Atlanta Hawks: Assessing Dewayne Dedmon’s Future With the Team

A short exploration of what the future of Dewayne Dedmon is on the Atlanta Hawks.

Dewayne Dedmon somewhat unexpectedly exercised his player option last summer, opting into the second of his 2-year deal with the Atlanta Hawks.

Some saw this as a surprise as Dedmon had established himself as an above-average center in the years prior, and especially his for first year in Atlanta. He could had easily nabbed a roster spot for a more competitive team, with likely the same amount of money.

This year the 7-footer has continued his improvement, averaging career bests in points, blocks and minutes per game, while adding a solid three-point game to his repertoire.

Looking forward, the Atlanta Hawks starting center is slated to become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. Atlanta will have an interesting offseason, mostly centered around the draft, but they will have a decision on whether or not to bring Dedmon back.

Assuming veteran Kent Bazemore opts into his own player option, Dedmon, and Vince Carter (who could very well retire) will be the only unrestricted free agents the Hawks will have this summer. They’ll have 2 centers under contract (Miles Plumlee and Alex Len) already, but will likely be looking for a starter-caliber option at the five.

Dedmon is certainly that, but if the recent rumors of the Atlanta Hawks’ wanting to be aggressive in free agency this year are to be believed, center is a position they could look to upgrade further than Dedmon.

Some notable centers slated to enter the market are: DeAndre Jordan, DeMarcus Cousins, Nikola Vucevic and Javale Mcgee.

There is also the option of drafting a 5, but outside of Bol Bol and Bruno Fernado, the draft isn’t very big-heavy, at least the top half where the Hawks will have two selections (hopefully).

If the Atlanta Hawks do bring the 30-year-old back, they’ll probably be looking to sign him to a short deal, giving them maximum flexibility at the spot moving forward, but the aging center could be looking for a more long-term contract, since he’s likely in the peak of his prime currently.

One aspect that does seem important to GM Travis Schlenk is veteran leadership, and he could certainly bring back the center just for that reason. If Vince does retire and assuming no one else signs, only Dedmon, Plumlee and Bazemore will be players on the roster over the age of 30.

Dedmon also seems very well-liked among the young core on this Hawks team.

It’s something to keep an eye on as the regular seasons starts to dwindle down. Dedmon is playing for money right now, and can certainly sway the Hawks or another potential suitor with good play down the stretch.