Cavs: How Matthew Dellavedova and Brandon Knight should help Darius Garland

Though Cleveland Cavaliers guards Matthew Dellavedova and Brandon Knight are both on expiring contracts for after the 2019-20 season, both should help rookie Darius Garland in his development, even if they are both moved by the 2020 NBA trade deadline.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are banking on rookie lead guard Darius Garland eventually becoming one of the team’s best players, as was the case with them selecting the Vanderbilt product fifth overall in the 2019 NBA Draft.

Though Garland only appeared in five games in his collegiate career, he showcased impressive perimeter shooting range, as he connected on 47.8% of his three-point shots, and averaged 16.3 points per contest on an overall effective field goal shooting clip of 63.9%, per Sports Reference.

Garland’s talent is there, and as KJG’s own Josh Friedman highlighted based on high school play, Garland’s vision and passing ability should not be overlooked, either, despite Garland only registering 2.6 assists per game at Vandy and having more turnovers (15) than assists (13) in those appearances (per Sports Reference), as he did not have much of a supporting cast.

Either way, Garland, who is just a 19-year-old rookie, could use some veteran guard guidance around him, and that’s where Brandon Knight and Matthew Dellavedova should come into play for Cleveland’s high draft pick.

Knight reportedly was a good fit as a mentor for Collin Sexton and helped set the right example for Cleveland’s young pieces last season, and Dellavedova’s good passing feel/spot-up shooting touch and (when healthy) solid defense against opposing point guards is a plus for young guards, too, and I would think both help Garland in his rookie year.

Yes, Knight and Dellavedova are both expiring contract players after next season, as we’ve often noted here at KJG, and could feasibly be moved by the Cleveland Cavaliers by the 2020 NBA trade deadline, as they could give teams in the postseason picture veteran reserve playmaking/good off-the-catch shooting.

More from King James Gospel

• 3 possible starting lineups for Cleveland Cavaliers in 2023-24
• The Cavaliers may have snagged a hidden gem in Craig Porter Jr.
• 4 players the Cavaliers should pursue in 2024 free agency
• 6 players Cavaliers might replace Jarrett Allen with by the trade deadline
• This stat is one to keep an eye on for Cavaliers’ Max Strus in years ahead

That being said, I would prefer if the Cavaliers waited until more toward the turn of the year and/or near the trade deadline next season to move Knight and/or Dellavedova, because Garland (and Sexton still) could really benefit from the influence of both.

Knight has career averages of 14.5 points and 4.0 assists per game (with an assist rate of 23.0%, per Basketball Reference), in seven NBA seasons (he missed the whole 2017-18  season with a reported ACL injury).

Knight’s ability to get the Cleveland Cavaliers in good position and run the team at times offensively helped Sexton in the last few months of Sexton’s rookie year in 2018-19, and allowed the latter to become more comfortable playing without the ball, and progress as a shooter off-the-catch and Sexton’s decision-making/feel for initiating ball-swings improved.

Along with that, the Cavs’ offense, though the sample size was only 36 games, had its highest (among somewhat regular rotation players) assist rate when Delly was on the floor at 61.5% (per NBA.com) and for his career, of which he’s mostly been a backup point guard, Dellavedova has a respectable 3.7 assists per game and an assist rate of 25.2% (per Basketball Reference).

That sort of thing should allow Garland to further progress off the ball, and though Garland is already a really capable perimeter shooting spot-up player, Knight and Dellavedova, too, running some offense and teaching Garland how to get teammates more involved in games would be valuable for at least a few months in Garland’s rookie season.

Getting some meaningful minutes on the floor with veteran playmaking guards, even if one or both ends up being traded down the road at some point next season, should help Garland further progress in his development and enable him to be more comfortable offensively on the floor with Collin Sexton, and again, enable Garland to be more effective in terms of running an NBA offense as likely Cleveland’s lead guard of the future.

Even with Garland being a good pick-and-roll scorer, especially when opportunities present themselves from beyond the three-point line, pointers won’t hurt from Knight in that realm.

Like Garland, Knight (who placed in the 80th percentile in PnR scoring last season as a Cav, per Synergy Sports Technology) is a player that can really fill it up with step-backs, pull-backs and hang dribbles to get quality shots/take advantage of bigs, and that skill set further passed down from Knight should help Garland be even more knowledgable in those situations, be more under control, and cut down on turnovers.

The pick-and-roll/lob passing feel of Delly to bigs such as Larry Nance Jr. and Ante Zizic should aid in Garland’s development in halfcourt playmaking, too, especially considering Garland does seem to have good vision for a young player, as was referenced.

Additionally, though Garland will certainly have his struggles on the ball defensively and likely will present a pick-and-roll problem for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and definitely needs to add muscle (he’s only listed at 6-foot-3 and 175 pounds, per Cavs.com), the influence of Dellavedova for a few months at least, who is a good defender against opposing point guards and some 2’s, and is very alert off the ball and rotates well to shooters/stunts to drivers pretty effectively, should help Garland and still, Sexton.

Garland is a very talented scorer, but for him to develop properly and at some point become the star many believe he can be for the Cleveland Cavaliers, guidance from proven veterans in Knight and Dellavedova, even if it’s not for the long term, will help Garland further progress as a playmaker and off-ball threat.