Matthew Dellavedova will be back with the Cleveland Cavaliers, which is really good to know.
Many Cleveland Cavaliers fans are probably ecstatic that guard Matthew Dellavedova was brought back. The two sides agreed to terms on his re-signing on Monday.
The backup point guard position is one that needed to be filled coming into the day, and plenty of Cavs fans were seemingly expecting Delly, previously an unrestricted free agent, to be the signing in that realm.
The fan-favorite has played all but two-and-a-half of his years with Cleveland, with him previously signing and then playing for the Milwaukee Bucks before being traded back to Cleveland early on in 2018-19.
He agreed to a one-year deal via the veteran’s minimum, of which was reportedly set to be $2.1 million (though the details were being finalized), per Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor. And in terms of the other reported details involving the signing, you can view those here.
Now, this isn’t the biggest splash in free agency in the league, but Cavs fans are excited everywhere. So what’s my grade for this deal, you ask?
I’d give this move by the Cavs an A.
But, in a specific context. Delly isn’t the best player out there, albeit he is a very solid reserve point guard that’s a crafty passer and is an intelligent defender.
Per-36 minutes, he averaged 7.9 assists this past season for the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was easily his worst shooting year, though, and he hit an ugly 23.1 percent from three-point range. But, in a rebuilding stage, it is vital to keep a player that the fans love to keep interest and Delly is that and more, and he brings energy to the squad when he’s out there.
It is also important to have a veteran presence in the locker room preferably that’s played for the squad for at least a good chunk of their career, and Dellavedova can aid Kevin Love in that way. Delly has played seven seasons in the league, with the majority being with Cleveland.
It also helps that he is a pass-first player and can hopefully rub some of that effect off on guards like Darius Garland and Collin Sexton. For what it’s worth, Garland, who had 5.1 assists per outing in his last 26 games of 2019-20, improved as a passer as his rookie year progressed, and Delly probably made a difference there, one would think.
Not to mention, Matthew Dellavedova has plenty of playoff experience that could impact the team if they end up making a run to the playoffs or possibly the play-in tournament, which is set to feature the 7-10 seeds in each conference.
Anyway, to get Delly back via veteran minimum deal is great for the Cavs. I’m a bit biased, but it is meaningful to have another key player from the 2016 championship team on the roster.
Kevin Love and Delly and now the only two players left from that team, since Tristan Thompson signed with the Boston Celtics on Saturday via unrestricted free agency.
Overall, it has been a pretty quiet offseason for Cleveland, by and large, but this is a move that made plenty of fans happy, and assuredly, the Cavs locker room.