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There was a stretch in late April where Dewayne Dedmon played “incredible” basketball for the Miami Heat. That carried over into the postseason and now the soon-to-be 32-year-old big man is coming back.
Dedmon is signing a one-year deal to reprise his role as Bam Adebayo’s backup. Shams Charania was the first to report the move as free agency signings cannot become official until Aug. 6. He averaged 7.1 points and 5.4 rebounds while shooting 70.8% from the field in 16 regular-season games. He saw his minutes ratchet up from 13.1 to 14.3 minutes per game in the playoffs.
“He plays incredibly hard. He’s unselfish. He takes all the right shots,” Butler said of Dedmon back on April 29. “We probably want him to shoot the ball a little bit more, especially on that pick-and-pop. But he’s a pro’s pro. He comes in. He stars in his role. And he’s not handed anything.”
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Max Strus Returning on Two-Year Deal
The Heat plan to ink Max Strus to a two-year deal worth $3.5 million, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The undrafted shooting guard was on a two-way contract with the Sioux Fall Skyforce in the NBA G League. Strus averaged 6.1 points in 39 games for the Heat and shot 33.8% from deep.
The Illinois native notched a career-high 21 points on Feb. 11 after drilling five triples against the Houston Rockets. His second-best performance came on March 16 versus the Detroit Pistons: 20 points, four rebounds, two assists. Strus had a reputation as a lights-out shooter at DePaul where he left ranked third all-time in three-point field goals (194).
“What he does is shoot the ball. I’ve seen him do it every single day,” Butler said of Strus, via NBA.com. “I don’t care if somebody’s in front of you, if I pass you that bad baby, if Bam passes it, if you can get you a shot off, get you a shot off because that’s what you do, that’s your role on this team. And he’s really f’n good at it.”
Heat Announce Summer League Roster
The Heat are participating in both the California Classic in Sacramento and the MGM Resorts NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. The team recently announced the 15-man roster for the summer sessions, headlined by KZ Okpala, Max Strus, Gabe Vincent, Omer Yurtseven. There are 11 rookies on the squad.
Practices started Sunday and their first game is slated for Tuesday night at 8 p.m. against the Los Angeles Lakers. Miami inked 10 rookies after the NBA draft: Marcus Garrett, DeJon Jarreau, Javonte Smart, RJ Nembhard, DJ Stewart, AJ Lawson, Micah Potter, Dru Smith, Justin Smith, and Tyson Carter. Yurtseven is still holding onto his rookie eligibility as well.
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