PORTLAND, Ore. — Most players in their third NBA season would dread a stint in the NBA Development League.
Dewayne Dedmon sought it out.
Buried in the Orlando Magic's big-man rotation, Dedmon asked team officials to send him from sunny Central Florida to often-gloomy Erie, Pa., so he could receive extended playing time with the Erie BayHawks. Dedmon wanted to prove what he could do, partly because he will become a free agent in July.
Dedmon never could have guessed he soon would occupy a spot in the Magic's starting five.