Cleveland Cavaliers Will Miss Matthew Dellavedova In 2016-17

The Cleveland Cavaliers lost Matthew Dellavedova to the Milwaukee Bucks. Although the loss will not make or break the Cavaliers season, Delly will be missed.

Matthew Dellavedova joined the Cleveland Cavaliers as an undrafted free-agent out of St. Mary’s in 2013. After displaying an unmatched hustle during training camp and the preseason, the Cavaliers signed Dellavedova to a partially guaranteed two-year deal.

The addition of Dellavedova proved to be a smart move, as the Aussie quickly became a fan favorite throughout Northeast Ohio due to this tremendous hustle and willingness to leave it on the floor every night.

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It didn’t take long for Dellavedova to become Kyrie Irving‘s full-time backup. His ability to facilitate the offense off the bench and drain the three-pointer, which became widely recognized as a “Delly Trey,” was exactly what the then-under performing Cavaliers needed.

Although Dellavedova was a name recognized by Cavs fans, he didn’t get national attention until the Cavaliers 2015 playoff run, where he ruffled a few feathers due to his hustle, which was deemed “dirty” by many fans.

During the 2015 NBA Finals, Dellavedova was tasked to defend the reigning league MVP in Stephen Curry while becoming a focal point in the Cavaliers offense after Irving went down with a knee injury in game one.

He impressed during the Finals, becoming LeBron James‘ temporary right-hand man. He defended Curry well, holding him to 21 percent from the field in game two, and scored the ball better than expected.

During his third (and final) season with the Cavaliers, Dellavedova took a big step forward, improving his numbers across the board. During the 2015-16 campaign, he averaged a career-high 7.5 points per game while shooting 41.0 percent from beyond the arc, which ranked 13th in the association.

Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, Dellavedova played himself right out of the price range, as he signed a four-year, $38.5 million contract with the Milwaukee Bucks in July, according to Cleveland.com‘s Chris Haynes.

In order to find a replacement for Dellavedova, the Cavaliers acquired the 54th pick in the 2016 NBA draft from the Atlanta Hawks in order to draft former Oakland starting point guard Kay Felder.

Felder, along with Jordan McRae and Mo Williams (if he decides not to retire), will fight for the Cavaliers backup point guard position.

One thing all of these guards have in common is their ability to put the ball in the basket. Felder averaged 24.4 points per game during his junior season at Oakland, while McRae set an NBA Development League record for most points in a game with 61 points and Williams is a veteran who is just two seasons removed from a 52-point performance.

Despite these point guards ability to score, which they all do arguably better than Dellavedova, they will not be able to replicate his uncanny hustle that he showed on a nightly basis.

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Dellavedova has a tendency that many players do not posses. Whenever there was a loose ball, he would be the first person on the ground fighting for it. Although being without Dellavedova’s ruthless pursuit of 50-50 balls may not affect the Cavaliers during the regular season, it will be more evident during the playoffs, where you cannot take a possession for granted.

Along with his hustle, Dellavedova also managed to keep the ball secure while running the Cavalier offense. In his last season with the Cavaliers he posted an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.91, which was good enough for 10th in the league.

Since the Cavaliers have the luxury of a James, Irving and Kevin Love led team, the absence of Dellavedova will not make or break their season, but it will be hard to replace the 25-year-old. His ability to knock down the three-pointer and facilitate the offense while hustling on every play will all be missed by the Cavaliers moving forward.

What is your favorite Matthew Dellavedova moment with the Cleveland Cavaliers? Share with us in the comments section or follow and tweet us @KJG_NBA.