LeBron James to present Jimmy V Award at ESPYS
July 15, 2015
ESPYs, NBA Contracts, and the Home Run Derby: While We’re Waiting…
July 16, 2015The kid from down under is trying to get over.
Matthew Dellavedova is a restricted free agent, and there has reportedly been little progress between he and the Cavs on a new contract. The 6-foot-4 guard is on the hunt for a multiyear contract, according to Sports Illustrated‘s Chris Mannix.
A restricted free agent, Dellavedova is seeking a multiyear 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. The [point guard] market has largely dried up—Jeremy Lin’s deal with Charlotte closed a potential door—so it will be interesting to see how long this stalemate continues.
The Cavs have offered Dellavedova a qualifying offer worth nearly $1.2 million. He’s free to sign with another team, though the Cavs can match any offer he receives. He could also sign a longer term deal with the Cavs, but it sounds as though little progress has been made on that front. If he can’t secure a better contract, he can accept the QO and become an unrestricted free agent after next season.
As Mannix wrote, a significant hurdle is the luxury tax penalties associated with any signing with the Cavs over the salary cap. If the Cavs sign Delly at $4 million per, they would end up paying closer to $20 million.1
Part 1: As @ChrisMannixSI reported Matt Del. looking for $4m. If CLE signed off on that it would equal the salary/taxes of a max player.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 15, 2015
CLE luxury taxes (not factoring in BH) right around $41.With Matt D. it would jump to $55m. That would be $14m/taxes and $4m salary = $18m
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 15, 2015
Dellavedova had some major moments in the NBA playoffs, including 19 points in a closeout win over the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and 20 points in Game 3 of the Finals against the Golden State Warriors, but he’s still a rather limited player. The Cavs would like to keep the plucky Aussie in the fold, but they also brought in Mo Williams as backup point guard insurance.
Unless another team offers Dellavedova a contract, it will be tough for him to force the Cavs’ hand. Without another suitor, he has no real leverage, so the Cavs may be content to wait this one out in hopes that Delly takes the qualifying offer.
- “BH” in the second tweet refers to Brendan Haywood and his $10 million nonguaranteed contract. [↩]
14 Comments
I like Delly, but he’s the 3rd PG/SG in all likelihood, the 11th man on the roster. Dellavedova is a nice 11th man (or 10th), but he’s not worth more than they’re paying Mo Williams. I’d give him $2M per year for three, with the final year a team option. Let him find an offer sheet to match if he wants more. I think his agent would’ve already done that if he could have.
BenRM wishes he was a little bit taller.
I get it. This is probably Delly’s only shot to get paid. He was a megastory for a few games in the playoffs, and he has to capitalize on that before he plays another full season of poor-to-mediocre basketball. The further he gets from OMGDellyOwnsCurry, the less money he stands to make.
My guess is he & the Cavs eventually come to an agreement on a multiyear deal (unless some team makes a stupid offer, just to annoy the Cavs). Not signing long term after these playoffs would be a huge mistake, especially considering his potential lack of playing time this coming year. He may never get a chance to be such an important cog on this team (or he might?) there’s just no guarantee. So why take that chance and then potentially get screwed as an unrestricted FA next year?
(nodding)
I wish I was a little bit taller y’all
I wish I was a baller
Hey, I wish I had my way
‘Cause everyday would be a Friday
You could even speed on the highway
I get what he’s doing and I’d do the same. If some other team’s PG suffers a major injury/illness/criminal arrest by September he stands to get an offer with way more guaranteed money. And there’s a better than even chance here that Kyrie will land on the IR and they’ll need Delly, even with Mo Williams. And then there’s the defense: Mo couldn’t defend a chair when he was 27, and is doubtful any better now. Delly surely craves some security. He’ll probably just play this out a few more weeks to see if something else pops..
The truth of the league economics is that even scrubs are on the verge of making relatively crazy money in 2 years. The impending influx of new tv money and huge cap increase will be spread among the same number of players. So if Delly is sure he will make some team’s roster (duh) he may not want a long term deal unless it’s significantly more than the current minimum for a 3rd year player. We don’t even want to think about what Mozgov’s market value will be in 2 years.
woops, I wrote the above before seeing Kirk’s musings on Delly in WWW. What Kirk said.
Clearly that little run he went on in the playoffs went to his head. I’ll keep my “Whoa Delly!” shirt but it was nice while it lasted. Cya.
He gone!
Since he’s restricted, let him get that deal from someone else and wish him the best. When it doesn’t happen, shake your head at him like an unsurprised and amused parent, and see if you can get a small deal done.
Agreed, but can’t blame a guy for trying to cash in as much as he can. Wait, are we talking about TT or Delly?
Honestly he had maybe 2 good games all playoffs although he did get national attention by the ridiculous media for “playing dirty.”
Because if you don’t want me around, I go simple, I go easy, I go Greyhound.