Missing: Do the Kings have reason for hope amid the disappearance of Dewayne Dedmon?
There is growing concern in Sacramento regarding the whereabouts of Kings center Dewayne Dedmon, who hasn’t been seen in an NBA basketball game for two weeks.
There have been a number of sightings of Dedmon on the team’s bench, but he hasn’t dialed up his signature 3-point celebration and there have been no other signs of activity in box scores over the past six games. Dedmon’s disappearance created a ripple effect that complicates the team’s plans for prized young big man Marvin Bagley III, but there might be reason for hope.
When located inside the visitor’s locker room following a game against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday in San Francisco, Dedmon said he is working through some difficulties — noting he went through this a year ago in Atlanta — and he will be back.
“Staying positive, baby, just staying positive, being true to myself,” Dedmon said. “I know what I’m capable of, so when the opportunity comes, I’ll be ready.”
Off the court since San Antonio
Video footage and game ledgers show Dedmon vanished from coach Luke Walton’s rotation following a game in San Antonio on Dec. 6. His disappearance can be traced directly to a first-quarter sequence against the Spurs that demonstrated how much he has struggled with his 3-point shot after signing a three-year, $40 million free-agent contract with the Kings last summer.
Kings guard Yogi Ferrell curled around a screen from Dedmon, drew two defenders into the paint and whipped a pass back out to Dedmon, who was wide open behind the 3-point line. There wasn’t a defender within 20 feet and nobody bothered to come closer, knowing Dedmon is shooting 22.9 percent from 3-point range this season after hitting 38.2 percent last season with the Atlanta Hawks.
Dedmon received a low pass, gathered, set his feet and fixed his eyes on the rim, taking 2.3 seconds to measure an uncontested shot. In NBA arenas, you can’t even get that much time to yourself in the bathroom.
“Dewayne Dedmon — nobody even within his zip code,” Kings play-by-play announcer Grant Napear said on the television broadcast. “Missed it.”
He missed it badly.
“Wow,” Kings color commentator Doug Christie said. “He was working that shot all day yesterday at practice and now I’m waiting for Ded to break through.”
Walton moved Dedmon into a backup role after he hit 2 of 11 from 3-point range over the first four games of the season, but he gave him 21 games before taking him out of the rotation completely. The Kings signed Dedmon believing his perimeter shooting would spread defenses and space the floor, giving Bagley and De’Aaron Fox room to operate inside, but the opposite is true if opponents don’t have to guard him.
Holmes, Bjelica step up in Dedmon’s absence
Dedmon’s shooting woes are the root of the team’s rotation issues now that Bagley has returned from a 22-game injury absence. The Kings planned to pair Bagley with Dedmon in the frontcourt, but now Richaun Holmes is starting at center and Nemanja Bjelica is playing power forward to provide perimeter shooting. Both have played well to help the Kings stay in playoff contention.
Bagley has been relegated to backup minutes at center since coming back from a broken thumb. Playing Bagley and Holmes together would create spacing issues. Playing Bagley and Bjelica together would hurt the team defensively. There are no simple solutions, but the Kings would have all their options available if Dedmon gets his groove back.
Dedmon knows he has struggled, but he believes his stroke will come back to him, saying he got hot after some early struggles with the Hawks in 2018-19.
“I started last season in a little slump and then we went to (Brooklyn) and I hit five in a row, so that’s how I got out of the slump,” Dedmon said.
That’s a true story and it might bode well for the Kings. Dedmon shot 24.5 percent from 3-point range while appearing in 22 of Atlanta’s first 28 games last season. He turned his season around after making 5 of 5 from beyond the arc against the Brooklyn Nets on Dec. 16, shooting 42.7 percent from long distance over the final 54 games.
Despite his struggles, Dedmon is still confident in himself.
“I’m always confident when I shoot,” Dedmon said. “When I let it go, I feel confident. If I didn’t feel confident, I wouldn’t shoot.”
So that’s what he’s doing, firing up shots at practice in hopes of getting back into the game.
“I’ve just been in the lab, man. I’ve been in the lab working on it,” Dedmon said. “Sometimes you have a little slump. How do you fix that? You just get in the lab and stay in the lab. That’s what I’ve been doing.”
Kings upcoming schedule
Dec. 20 at Indiana Pacers, 4 p.m.
Dec. 21 at Memphis Grizzlies, 5 p.m.
Dec. 23 vs. Houston Rockets, 7 p.m.
Dec. 26 vs. Minnesota Timberwolves, 7 p.m.
Dec. 28 vs. Phoenix Suns, 6 p.m.
This story was originally published December 19, 2019 at 9:51 AM.
