Cleveland Cavaliers: Should They Re-sign Matthew Dellavedova?

The Cleveland Cavaliers were just two wins away from doing the unthinkable in this year’s NBA Finals: upsetting the heavily-favored Golden State Warriors. And when a team comes that close to winning it all despite the absence of two All-star players, the consensus is that the front office should make a serious push towards retaining everyone who played a key role in such an improbable playoff run.

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That being said, the Cavs have re-signed LeBron James, Kevin Love, Iman Shumpert and are currently working on an extension with Tristan Thompson as well. But as far as Matthew Dellavedova is concerned? Well, this is where things have gotten interesting. According to Chris Fedor of Northeast Ohio Media Group, current talks with the front office and Dellavedova have reached an impasse.

Although the Cavs did extend Delly a qualifying offer worth $1 million prior to start of the free agency period, it appears to the two sides are worlds apart in regards to reaching agreement on an extension, per Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated:

"“Dellavedova is seeking a multi-year deal starting at $4 million per season, per a source, and the Cavs have balked, largely due to the enormous luxury tax implications that come with that type of contract.”"

Strictly from a salary standpoint, Dellavedova isn’t asking for the world here. However, if the Cavs do opt to re-sign him at that price tag, the financial consequences would be rather astronomical being that they have already exceeded the luxury tax.

Needless to say, that is a ton of money to pay for a one-dimensional player. That may sound like a harsh statement on the surface, but there is a reason for this assertion.

First of all, Delly is not a player that can score a lot of points as his 4.8 points per game average during the regular season indicates. Along with that, being that he is not a shot creator, a lot of his attempts come as result of drive-and kick situations.

Just to be fair, though, I will give Delly credit for his relentless effort on the defensive end of the floor. He is not afraid to sacrifice his body, as he constantly dives for loose balls in a Dennis Rodman-like fashion. During the Finals, he made a name for himself in the first half of the six-game set against the Warriors, limiting the league’s MVP Stephen Curry to 23 points on 9-for-28 shooting in Games 2-4.

Of course, when Curry put up 62 points in the last two games of the series, all the talk about him holding Curry in check ceased, and rightfully so. Having said that, is it really worth paying such a hefty price tag for a hustle and energy guy whose game is limited from a production standpoint?

Probably not.

Another factor that makes this scenario interesting is that the Cavs recently acquired Mo Williams, who played alongside James in Cleveland from 2008-10. While Williams is not the same kind of in-your-face defender that Dellavedova is, he is a playmaker who can create scoring opportunities for himself and teammates as well.

In 41 appearances with the Minnesota Timberwolves last season, Williams averaged 12.2 points and 6.4 assists per contest. And during his short stay with the Charlotte Hornets (27 games), Williams averaged 17.2 points and 6.0 assists per contest.

In other words, Williams gives the Cavs another legitimate scoring option off the bench when Kyrie Irving is not on the floor, something that Dellavedova isn’t capable of doing at this point of his career. So while general manager David Griffin has stated that he would like to work out a deal that would allow the undrafted point guard to return next season, the numbers don’t justify the money it would cost to pull it off.

This is especially true when you factor Williams into the equation.

Next: Cleveland Cavaliers: Your 2015-16 East Champs

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