Win a championship, and teams will try to poach your players.
After decades of watching from a distance, Cleveland is learning first-hand.
Timofey Mozgov left the Cavaliers for the Lakers, and now Matthew Dellavedova could be headed to the Bucks.
Zach Lowe of ESPN:
Bucks are nearing a 4-year, $38M deal for Matthew Dellavedova, sources tell https://t.co/zbzq88KImD
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) July 1, 2016
I love the fit. Dellavedova can play with Giannis Antetokounmpo, whom the Bucks plan to start at point guard. Dellavedova should guard opposing point guards, and Milwaukee’s length behind him will protect him when his aggressiveness goes awry. Offensively, Dellavedova can be both a complementary ball-handler when Antetokounmpo needs help and a spot-up shooter when the Greek Freak is running the show.
The biggest downside to this deal: Dellavedova is a restricted free agent, and Cleveland might match.
The capped-out Cavs have no way to replace him with a comparable player. They can scrape by with Mo Williams (who opted in) and second-round pick Kay Felder behind Kyrie Irving. But that’s a downgrade for a team trying to win right now.
The only cost to matching is Dan Gilbert’s money. The luxury-tax bill alone will be huge, but at least there’d be no real detriment in team-building.
Dellavedova can’t sign an offer sheet until July 7, and the Cavaliers would have three days to match. That gives them time to figure out just how costly it would be -- what J.R. Smith will command, which veteran point guards might take the mid-level exception or less to join a contender and, importantly, what LeBron James suggests they do.
