I thought I'd post some other interesting info about Dedmon. First, he didn't start playing basketball until his senior year of highschool when he turned 18. Until that time his mother wouldn't let him play because of religious belief's. At age 18 he was 6'8" tall. Obviously with such a late start, no college came knocking on his door, so he attended Antelope Valley College as a part time student, and didn't play during the 2008/09 season. During his sophmore year at Antelope Valley, now 7 feet tall he averaged 6.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, and recorded a total of 46 blocked shots, and set the school record of 7 blocks in one game. He then sustained a nasal cavity injury and missed the last 7 games of the season.
He then transferred to USC, and according to NCAA rules, had to redshirt the 2010/11 year. He was on the same team with Vucevic at USC. As you can see, he got a very late start at basketball, and even lost two years of playing time after he started. So while he's 29 years old, he's a young 29 by games played standards. It's also very possible that he still has some improvement left in the tank since he started so late. He could just now be moving into his prime as far as abilities go. If nothing else, he could hold down the fort until we develop a center.
All the articles I read about him paint him as a good locker room guy, and a very loud and funny guy. He appears to be well liked by his teammates. Atlanta has said that they want him back, so it would probably take a fair sized offer to scare them off. He's also implied that he loves playing for the Hawks, but, he knows that this is his chance for his big payday, and he's not going to take less pay to stay there.