Spurs acquire Dewayne Dedmon and a second-round pick for cash considerations
The familiar face won't be around long, as San Antonio continues to take on assets in exchange for access to its fertile dumping grounds.
The Spurs have yet to pull anything flashy ahead of the trade deadline, but the work they’re doing around the fringes remains an important part of the rebuild process.
Earlier this morning, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported San Antonio has acquired Dewayne Dedmon and a 2028 second-round pick from the Miami Heat, with later reports confirming the Spurs are sending cash considerations in return. Dedmon will not be in San Antonio long, however, as he will likely be waived following the trade deadline if the Spurs are unable to flip him for more value in the next couple of days.
By the way, thank you for checking out the Corporate Knowledge newsletter! If you’d like to receive new posts and support my work, you can sign up below to become a free or paid subscriber.
And a special thank you to all paid subscribers. Y’all have made the work I’m doing here possible, because your support has let directly to improved coverage and access this team hasn’t given in the past to independent writers and journalists. The more folks have been willing to jump on board, the more improved this newsletter has become.
This one is pretty simple to break down: San Antonio is essentially paying a small amount of money to add another draft pick to its stash, which could be used as a sweetener in another trade down the line. Second-round picks don’t hold a ton of value on their own, but they become real currency when they’re combined with other assets.
For instance, just last year the Spurs acquired the eventual No. 20 pick in the NBA Draft from the Toronto Raptors in a larger deal that sent out Thaddeus Young and the rights to the Detroit Pistons’ 2022 second-round pick, which became the No. 33 overall selection. That high-value second-rounder likely swung the deal by mitigating the risk Toronto took in giving up its only first-round selection.
As for Dedmon’s $4.7-million contract, it won’t take any extra skin off San Antonio’s financial back. The Spurs entered the day nearly $15 million below the NBA’s salary floor (the minimum team salary allowed), and if they remain below said floor at the end of the season, the rest of the money required to meet the minimum will be redistributed to their own players. So the cash they would owe Dedmon for the rest of the season ($1.67 million pro-rated) is an amount they would’ve eventually had to pay anyway. On top of that, his contract isn’t guaranteed for next season. So this is a short-term commitment.
There may be some who view this as an indicator San Antonio could be on the verge of trading either Jakob Poeltl or Zach Collins, but I’d caution against seeing this as anything more than a salary dump in exchange for a pick. Even if the Spurs do end up moving one of their centers prior to the deadline, Dedmon really isn’t a candidate to stick around. Forget for a second the bizarre dust-up in Miami earlier this season, the former Spur did not leave San Antonio on the best of terms following his 2016-17 stint with the team.
Dedmon was yanked from the starting lineup during the first round of the 2017 playoffs, and was used very sparingly the rest of the way. He and the Spurs did not see eye-to-eye on a number of things, which led to him eventually declining his player option the following offseason and then signing in Atlanta. So if you’re thinking this is a move to bring in depth ahead of a bigger move, don’t count on it. A bigger move may come regardless, but this deal is not likely to play a factor in it unless Dedmon’s contract is part of the transaction.
So the Spurs are going to continue to sit patiently by as the lone team in the NBA that’s sitting under the salary floor. There may be larger moves to come, as other teams are certainly inquiring about a number of players on the roster. But for now, San Antonio remains open for business to anyone interested in cutting costs or needing help facilitating another deal.
For a small price, any and all are welcome.