Dewayne Dedmon To Test Free Agency, Turns Down Spurs Option

San Antonio Spur Dewayne Dedmon has reportedly turned down his team’s player option and will test free agency this off-season, according to The Vertical.

The player option, worth $3 million, would have kept Dedmon in San Antonio through the 2017-2018 basketball season, where his impact has become more and more significant.

Dedmon signed with the Spurs to enter the 2016-2017 campaign with a 2-year $6 million contract and played more, and better, than he had in any of his previous six seasons in the NBA.

The 7’0 foot center filled a much needed void under the basket for the Spurs. Last season, the 27-year-old averaged 17.5 minutes, 5.1 points, and 6.5 rebounds in 76 games, starting a little over half of those games.

Dedmon’s impact was most felt defensively. According to NBA.com’s line-up data, teams scored 5.2 more points when he was off the floor. The big man also averaged around one block per game.

Deadmon will be one of the top available centers in unrestricted free agency this summer. Milwalkee’s Greg Monroe is the top player available at that position but he would likely demand a much larger contract – and one for more years – than Deadmon would likely require.

The former USC Trojan is shaping up to be a hit off-season, according to his former teammate Danny Green.

“He’s always been active, but he’s matured more here, picking and choosing what shots to try to block, picking when to choose to roll to the basket, go for lobs. He’s gotten an opportunity to show what he is capable of doing and he’s taking full advantage of it,” Green told the San Antonio Express-News.

The Spurs went 61-21 during the 2016-2017 season, good enough for a top spot in the playoffs. They were swept the lossless Warriors in the Conference Finals.