The Cleveland Cavaliers have been active in bringing the majority of the team back from last season, with Dellavedova looking likely to be the most recent name to remain with the team. According to RealGM’s Shams Charania the Cavs are making progress in discussions on a multi-year deal for restricted free agent guard Matthew Dellavedova, who throughout the course of the 2015 NBA Playoffs became an effective and scrappy backup guard for the team. This seems to be a pretty decent deal for the backup point guard if you ask me.
The relentless Dellavedova, an undrafted reserve, was thrown into a starting role in the NBA Finals thanks to an injury to Kyrie Irving, but with that responsibility comes great reward; that reward being somewhere in the $3-5M+ range.
Cavs and RFA Matthew Dellavedova making progress in discussions toward a multiyear deal in $3-5M+ annual range, league sources tell RealGM.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 3, 2015
It was during Game 6 of the Cavs’ conference semifinals against the Bulls, that Matthew Dellavedova became one of the least unlikely heroes of the 2015 NBA Playoffs. He scored 19 points in a game where All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving had to leave due to injury.
Dellavedova was great at playing his role as a catch and shoot 3-ball and a real pest guard defender, which was an ideal scenario for the limited bench minutes that he gets. I’ll definitely be glad to see Dellavedova back in a Cavs uniform, as he did a great job this season at adjusting to his deficiencies and tailoring his game to play up his strengths and it payed off.
It’s also important to note that you are definitely doing a good job when the best player in the world sings praises about you:
“You don’t mind a guy the way he plays, his attention to detail,” LeBron James told ESPN. “If he happens to make a mistake, you’re able just to say, ‘OK, he made a mistake because he’s playing hard.’ You can’t fault that; you can’t fault what he brings to the table. It’s been key to our team. I know Kyrie is extremely happy to have a backup like that. For us as a team, we’re happy to have him.”
He averaged 4.8 points and three assists for Cleveland last season, shooting 40.7 percent from beyond the arc.
