Portland Trail Blazers: 5 backup big men signings to replace Zach Collins

Trail Blazers replacement for Zach Collins – Dewayne Dedmon

Dewayne Dedmon may be the best big man available on the open market.

A legitimate seven-footer who can stretch the floor and protect the rim, Dedmon was unfortunately signed by a dysfunctional Sacramento Kings team where he lost a lot of his value before being traded.

Dedmon is a journeyman center, but had three strong years on the San Antonio Spurs and the re-building Atlanta Hawks, before the Kings gave him a three-year $40 million contract in 2019.

Unfortunately for Dedmon, he didn’t fit in with the Kings as they fell out of the Western Conference reckoning, as he only played 34 games with them.

He was traded to the Hawks and then onto the Detroit Pistons before being waived and stretched.

Dedmon is only 31, and still deserves a place in the league.

He shoots 33 percent from three over his career, and has made 155 three-pointers over the last three seasons.

As a rim protector, his seven-foot-four wingspan helps him block shots at some of the best rates in the league, while also being an excellent rebounder and finisher at the rim.

All five of these big man options could be signed on the minimum, and they could probably be acquired on ten-day contracts as well, when the ten-day window opens.

None of these are star players, but as free agents, they could back up the Blazers’ big men in case of an injury.