Sixers Acquire Former Miami Heat Center Dewayne Dedmon

The Philadelphia 76ers are adding another backup center to the roster. On Monday, a source confirmed to All76ers that the Sixers are signing the free agent center, Dewayne Dedmon, for the rest of the season.

Recently, Dedmon was moved ahead of the trade deadline to the San Antonio Spurs. Considering the Spurs are currently in a rebuild, it became clear that the 33-year-old center was a buyout candidate. Sure enough, Dedmon was set to hit the free agency market within days of getting traded.

This season, Dedmon spent 30 games on the court for the Miami Heat. Averaging 12 minutes on the floor, Dedmon produced six points per game while coming down with four rebounds. He took roughly four shots per game, draining 50 percent of his attempts.

Being in the NBA since 2013, Dedmon has just three playoff runs under his belt. His first came in 2016-2017 when he was a member of the San Antonio Spurs. The other two runs came recently when he was a member of the Miami Heat.

Last year, Dedmon played in 14 of Miami’s postseason matchups, spending ten minutes on the court per game. During that time, he averaged four points and three rebounds.

Dedmon joins a duo of backup centers in Philadelphia and will compete for minutes behind Joel Embiid. This season, the Sixers have rotated players behind Embiid as Paul Reed, and Montrezl Harrell have split time.

With Dedmon in the mix, the Sixers now have a third option. Philadelphia has 27 games left to figure out their primary rotation ahead of their playoff run. With Dedmon joining the team this week, there’s no doubt he’ll get an opportunity to audition for the spot, as the backup five position has been uncertain for Philadelphia this year.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.