Dewayne Dedmon’s time with the Miami Heat could be up, as the team is reportedly looking to ship him away. According to Heat insider Ira Winderman, the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder are possible landing spots for the veteran center.
“The Utah Jazz or Oklahoma City Thunder are possible landing spots in a Dedmon selloff,” Winderman wrote.
An earlier report stated that the Heat are also exploring trade scenarios that would land the team a player earning less. That would likely be the ideal scenario for the front office because of salary-cap implications.
It’s unclear if the Jazz and Thunder are looking for veteran help, but it might make sense for them to try to acquire Dedmon in exchange for a player that fits Miami’s supposed criterion.
With the trade deadline looming, the Heat are definitely one of the teams to watch. The Heat could be buyers at the deadline, especially when a big catch like Kyrie Irving is available.
However, the possibility of landing the star point guard might be low as the Brooklyn Nets are reportedly interested in acquiring any of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro in exchange for Irving. Clearly, the Heat would rather hold onto those three because they have been key to the squad this season.
Miami is currently in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race, sporting a 29-25 record that is good for sixth place in the standings. Several players have helped the Heat recover from a lackluster start to the 2022-23 campaign, with Dedmon having some solid performances during the season.
However, the 33-year-old is seemingly out of the rotation now and hadn’t been seeing minutes for a significant stretch before coach Erik Spoelstra put him on the floor on Saturday to help a short-handed Heat team against the Milwaukee Bucks.
This season, Dedmon has suited up in just 30 games, averaging 5.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per contest. It remains to be seen how many more matches the big man will have in a Heat uniform.
