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Dewayne Dedmon has had a busy rookie season. He's bounced around from the Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA D-League since going undrafted in 2013 out of Southern California. He got another shot at the NBA in February when the Orlando Magic inked him to the first of two 10-day contracts, and then elected to keep him for the balance of the 2013/14 season.
According to the Magic's own Dante Marchitelli, Dedmon picked uniform no. 3 with Orlando because it's his third NBA team "and he hopes the 3rd time is a charm." Based on the early returns, it just might be.
Given its need for an defensive presence on the interior off the bench, Orlando figures to give Dedmon plenty of chances to prove his value: Saturday against the Utah Jazz, Dedmon logged 12 minutes off the bench while Andrew Nicholson, a first-round Draft choice in 2012, earned a Did Not Play-Coach's Decision. And on Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers, Dedmon made a big impact: in a game it lost by nine points, Orlando outscored L.A. by nine in Dedmon's 11 minutes.
In seven appearances, the seven-footer is averaging 3.1 points on a sizzling 75 percent shooting from the floor to go with 1.6 rebounds and 0.4 blocks in 7.1 minutes per game.