ASK IRA: Did Heat overvalue Dewayne Dedmon in last summer’s NBA free agency?
Q: I did not understand why we re-signed Dewayne Dedmon in the first place. – Lee.
A: Because he was effective in his reserve role behind Bam Adebayo last season, and because, at worst, the Heat thought he could be a tradable asset by the trading deadline. Instead, a foot issue and seemingly age limited his ability and the Heat were left without a taker. So by re-signing Dedmon, the Heat essentially cost themselves a second-round pick. But that is hindsight. No one in July could have foreseen such a dramatic falloff.
Q: Can Cash play the four? – H.H.
A: No, and the $110,000 the Heat received from the Spurs to meet NBA requirements basically is enough to cover one player for a 10-day contract. But what the Dewayne Dedmon move did was open enough space below the luxury tax for the Heat to convert Orlando Robinson to a standard contract and also add a player on the buyout market (Serge Ibaka?) if they don’t otherwise add a replacement player at Thursday’s trading deadline.
Q: Do you think the Kyle Lowry signing was the Heat’s worst ever in terms of high-profile free agents? – Frank, Boynton Beach.
A: Considering the price point and the limited payoff, it ranks right up there (down there?). But Kyle Lowry did help the Heat to the No. 1 seed last season before it went south for him in the playoffs. And that is further than Hassan Whiteside took the Heat after they made that four-year, $98 million deal (compared to three years, $85 million for Lowry). There also was the four-year, $60 million deal for James Johnson that provided minimal return. Now we have to wait to see how Jimmy Butler’s four-year, $184 million extension plays out in the latter years, as well as Tyler Herro’s four-year, $130 million extension that begins next season.
