Dallas Mavericks should trade for Dewayne Dedmon

With Dwight Powell tearing his Achilles, the Dallas Mavericks need to stay in win now mode. To do this they should trade for Dewayne Dedmon.

The Dallas Mavericks have had some bad luck with injuries. Up until Tuesday, they had not threatened their season. But losing Dwight Powell to an Achilles injury in the game against the LA Clippers may yet do this.

While Powell is not of the caliber of Luca Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, he was a key piece of the Mavericks’ plans to move forward in this seasons playoffs. He was able to do this through his efficiency on offense and his athleticism on defense.

More from Hoops Habit

• 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
• Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
• Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
• Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
• NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers

Powell is averaging 9.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 0.9 steals and 0.6 blocks per game this season. He is shooting the ball incredibly from inside the arc, going at 72.0 percent. His field goal percentage is 64.0 percent thanks to his lowly 25.6 from 3-point range.

Powell’s efficiency is due to his ability to work inside the system run by Doncic. Of his made shots this season, 80.9 percent have been assisted, which shows he knows where he should be on the court. He has also made a team-high 57 dunks; this always helps with field goal percentage.

In short, the Mavericks are going to miss Powell’s production and energy on the court. It also has the effect of shortening the bench rotation at center. Maxi Kleber would move into the starting lineup; Boban Marjanovic would be the primary backup.

The other scenario is that Porzingis would take some time at center. However, with his injury history and how hard the bodies get banged around in the paint, it would be wiser to leave him at the 4.

This is where trading for Sacramento Kings’ center Dewayne Dedmon makes sense. Dedmon is in the first year of his three-year, $40 million contract. While he is a little overpaid at this price, he may be the perfect piece to keep the Mavericks’ season on track.

Dedmon is visibly unhappy in Sacramento and has publicly requested to be traded. He did get a $50,000 fine for saying this, but it shows how truly unhappy he is. He is a defensive-minded center who makes a living offensively by being in the right place at the right time.

Over his career, Dedmon has averaged 6.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.8 blocks and 0.5 steals per game. He has shot the ball well, his slash line being 52.4/34.9/72.9. The 3-point percentage is huge because he added this shot to his game while playing for the Atlanta Hawks. The man can also pass.

Over his career Dedmon has been assisted on 73.4 percent of his made shots. This number will surely go up playing with a player the caliber of Doncic. But what would the Mavericks have to give up to get Dedmon? The answer is not much.

They would give up the expiring contract of Courtney Lee. This will help the Kings with their salary cap as Dedmon is effectively wasted money due to not being played much. This gives them a greater ability to sign their budding stars in the coming years.

Due to Dedmon stating that he wants a trade, the Kings are probably going to have to include a 2020 second-round draft pick, at least. This will mean that the Mavericks will have eight active players signed until the end of the 2022 season.

This gives the team time to build chemistry. It also gives Doncic and Porzingis the chance to grow even more into their games, which gives the Dallas Mavericks potential contenders for many years to come.