On July 14 of last year, the Spurs signed a free agent center named Dewayne Dedmon to a two-year contract worth not quite $6 million.

The deal did not exactly send shockwaves throughout the rest of the NBA.

It barely caused a ripple in the Spurs’ locker room.

“I didn’t know much about him, not really,” point guard Tony Parker said. “I knew him a little from Orlando.”

Truth be told, Dedmon didn’t arrive in San Antonio with sky-high expectations, either.

A journeyman in search of his fourth team in four seasons after the Magic let him walk, Dedmon joined the Spurs simply looking for his niche.

“I just knew when I came here, I was going to have to work,” said Dedmon, 27. “That’s the main thing I knew. I was just trying to do that and see what happens.”

Having emerged as the unlikely starting center for the NBA’s second-best team, Dedmon has given the Spurs pleasantly more than they bargained for.

When the Spurs return to the AT&T Center to face Indiana on Wednesday, the 15th annual rodeo trip in the rearview mirror, Dedmon is likely to be in the starting lineup for the 12th consecutive game.

A 7-foot leaper, Dedmon took over the job on Jan. 31, 12 days after Pau Gasol fractured his left hand in warmups before a game against Denver.

He has played well enough to hold onto it now that Gasol is back.

“He brings another dynamic character to the first group,” backup guard Patty Mills said. “That’s good for us, in terms of his energy and enthusiasm.”

In the 11 games since Dedmon took over the starting gig, he is averaging 8.1 points and 10.2 rebounds.

Though the high-flyer has become a fan favorite with his 46 slam dunks, Dedmon’s presence has been felt most acutely on the defensive end.

Last season the Spurs boasted one of the top defenses in the past two decades, giving up a paltry 96.6 points per 100 possessions.

Since Jan. 31, the night coach Gregg Popovich inserted Dedmon into the starting five against Oklahoma City, the Spurs are allowing 95.4 points per 100 possessions.

Among players who have appeared in more than 30 games, Dedmon ranks first in the league in defensive rating (94.8). He said the chance to play extended minutes with the starters has helped him gain confidence.

“I definitely feel like it helps you get chemistry with different players,” Dedmon said. “I’m just going to come in and do the same thing I do when I come off the bench — play hard and grab some rebounds.”

On the flip side of the lineup switch is Gasol, a 36-year-old with six All-Star appearances on his resume.

The Spurs gave Gasol a two-year, $31.6 million deal last summer to replace the retired Tim Duncan in the starting five. Including the final two games of the rodeo trip, Gasol has come off the bench in only 15 of his 1,211 career appearances, regular season or playoffs.

“We’re just trying to be the best team that we can, and Pop is doing a good job of putting (out) the best lineups and also maximizing everyone’s talents,” said Gasol, who has totaled 31 points and 18 rebounds in two games as a reserve.

“I want to be real mature about this and really wise, and understand what’s best for the team, not only what’s best for me.”

It is a conundrum the Spurs did not quite expect to face when Dedmon fell into their laps in July.

The Magic declined to pursue Dedmon for a fourth year, instead opting to trade for Serge Ibaka and give nearly $70 million to Bismack Biyombo.

When Dedmon became available, Spurs assistant James Borrego lobbied the front office on his behalf.

Borrego had coached Dedmon in Orlando. He noted that when the Magic installed Dedmon as the starter near the end of the 2014-15 season, their defense improved dramatically.

“J.B. was really high on him,” Popovich said. “He certainly was right. He’s been important to us all year.”

A signing that barely registered last summer has become one of the more consequential transactions of the free agency period.

In Dedmon, the Spurs now have the type of athletic, versatile defender necessary to survive a Western Conference playoff bracket peppered with smaller, quicker teams like Golden State and Houston.

“His confidence is growing,” Parker said. “He’s a good fit for us.”

As for how to best deploy both Dedmon and Gasol going forward?

“That’s going to be Pop’s decision,” Parker said. “It’s a good problem to have.”

And one the Spurs could not have envisioned a few months ago.

jmcdonald@express-news.net

Twitter: @JMcDonald_SAEN