The end of an NBA bench can be a fickle place, with one injury to any member of a roster changing the entire landscape of what a team desires in their pool of reserves. We were reminded of that relative instability on Thursday, when the Golden State Warriors made a roster move.
Warriors have waived center Dewayne Dedmon.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) December 5, 2013
Dedmon’s release isn’t terribly surprising, simply because he has only appeared in 4 games with Golden State this season, and the fact that he was on a non-guaranteed contract. The 7-footer from USC signed just over two weeks ago (on November 19th) as insurance for the team in the wake of an injury to Jermaine O’Neal, but with the veteran back in the fold and healthy, there was little use for Dedmon.
7-footers with athleticism don’t grow on trees (even in the NBA), and that gives Dedmon a legitimate chance to catch on elsewhere. However, he may be wise to go the route of the D-League, simply because at 24 years old with little college or pro experience, he is very raw at this stage.
Golden State may have to bring another body if they are hit with the injury bug again, but they simply couldn’t keep Dedmon around to wait on one.