Getty Miami Heat center Dewayne Dedmon warms up prior to a bout with the Boston Celtics.
Say what you will about Dewayne Dedmon (Miami Heat fans have been saying a lot recently), the veteran big man was a solid contributor in South Beach last season. In 67 games (and 15 starts) as Bam Adebayo’s de facto backup in 2021-22, he put up 6.3 points and 5.8 boards in just 15.9 minutes per game.
Along the way, he shot 56.6% from the floor, made better than 40% of his attempts from deep and posted a positive net rating of 3.5.
Fast-forward to now, though, and the 33-year-old find himself outside of head coach Erik Spoelstra’s rotation entirely. Since December 21, Dedmon has appeared in a grand total of four games for Miami, never playing more than 12 minutes. Also: he’s having mystery meetings with Heat prez Pat Riley.
All of this is to say that the Heat are likely in the market for another big body; Omer Yurtseven and Orlando Robinson’s presence on the roster notwithstanding. And, according to one league insider, they’ve already made calls on a former lottery pick with shot-blocking ability.
The Athletic: Miami Heat Have Contacted the Detroit Pistons About C Nerlens Noel
The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III just dropped an update on what he’s hearing about the Detroit Pistons’ potential maneuverings at the trade deadline. In doing so, the league insider noted that multiple teams have “called and inquired” about the availability of center Nerlens Noel.
One of those teams was apparently the Miami Heat. A slew of other likely playoff teams were also reported as having kicked the tires on a Noel trade, including the Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics.
Noel, who’s now 28 years old after entering the NBA nearly a decade ago as a No. 6 overall pick, has made only sporadic appearances for the Pistons in 2022-23. Over 13 appearances, he’s averaging 2.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in just 11.4 minutes per game.
That said, he’s not long removed from logging a 5.1-6.4-2.2 line and posting the league’s second-best block percentage (at 8.8) for the New York Knicks in 2020-21. So, it’s not hard to understand why he might be in demand ahead of the deadline. And going beyond his on-court production, there are other things teams can get behind where acquiring Noel is concerned.
Noel’s Contract Could Be Used as a Trade Asset or For Clearing Salary
As it stands, Noel will pull down a cool $9.2 million for his services this season, and he could bring in another $9.7 million in 2023-24. It’s worth noting that there’s actually a club option on his deal for next season, though. So any team trading for him now could simply allow him to walk at the end of the current campaign.
Such a scenario could be huge for a team like the Heat that has limited money/roster spots with which to make upgrades.
Just as an example, if Riley decided that he wanted to move on from Victor Oladipo, for example, the former All-Star (who has a player option worth $9.5 million next season) could be traded for Noel. Miami could then opt out on the big man over the summer, freeing up over $9 million in salary for next season.
Another possibility — Noel could be repackaged as an expiring contract and used as part of some bigger trade in the future.