Cavs: 3 potential pick-and-roll duos to look out for next season

Potential pick-and-roll duo #3: Matthew Dellavedova and Larry Nance Jr.

Matthew Dellavedova filled in very well in place of Darius Garland leading up to the season’s suspension while Garland was sidelined due to a left groin injury.

In the month of March, Delly had been averaging an astonishing 9.2 assists per game compared to just 2.0 turnovers per game, as noted by Basketball Reference.

His facilitating, grit and veteran presence had been big for the Cleveland Cavaliers over their last few games leading into the NBA’s season suspension on March 11 (and is until further notice due to COVID-19 precaution being exercised), and his presence will be needed once again next season.

Delly will be a free agent at the conclusion of the season (whenever the upcoming free agency period is), but his market should be low and he should not cost much to bring back.

Dellavedova was set to make $9.6 million in 2019-20, though according to Wojnarowski, per the “force majeure” provision in the collective bargaining agreement in regards to catastrophic circumstances, players could potentially lose one percent of salary on a per-game-cancellation basis. That’s if the regular season is eventually cut down, and Woj detailed much more in that report.

At any rate, Delly is a fan favorite and the Cavs’ front office should look to bring him back for at least another season, feasibly on a team-friendly deal.

For the two seasons that Delly played with LeBron James, his running mate was Tristan Thompson. This duo had many memories together as they would always connect for some emphatic lobs but, with Tristan reportedly likely to leave the Cavs in free agency, Delly will be in search of a new, more regular lob partner and that player is likely to become Larry Nance Jr.

Nance Jr. has been one of the Cavs’ unsung heroes this season and has molded himself into a great rotational forward. With his improvements in shooting and facilitating, he has turned into a “do-it-all” type of player and his presence has been felt this year. This season, Nance Jr. has not been a particularly efficient scorer in the pick-and-roll game this year but, there are many variables that go into it.

The biggest reason as to why the pick-and-roll game may not be as effective as many may hope is due to the lack of spacing off the bench. Having Dylan Windler return from a stress reaction in his left leg that’s kept him out all year and the Cavs potentially seeing continued growth from Porter from the perimeter should fix this and allow for more room in the paint.

From there, Nance’s leaping ability paired with Delly’s passing ability should allow for some great highlights and this duo could be a fun one for the next few seasons, perhaps.

All in all, if the Cavs want to become a competitive team once again, improving their pick-and-roll game should be one of their top priorities. They have put together a nice foundation of key players and with a few more moves, the Wine and Gold could start to make some noise in the Eastern Conference.