Aussies in NBA: Dellavedova commits to Cavs with qualifying deal
The wait is finally over. Move along Portland, Matthew Dellavedova will remain a Cleveland Cavalier next season.
After engaging in extended discussion on a multi-year deal, the Cleveland guard ended up taking a team-friendly deal. According to Tom Withers of Associated Press, Dellavedova accepted the initial qualifying offer of $1.2 million for the coming season, and will go into unrestricted free agency after the 2015-16 NBA season.
The signing is still a considerable bump from Delly's original salary of $816,000 last season, but way below what the guard's rumoured asking price of $3 to $5 million was.
In addition to Dellavedova's minimum deal, Cleveland's recent dealing of Mike Miller and Brendan Haywood to Portland has also eased the team's luxury cap situation considerably, giving them breathing room to re-sign Tristan Thompson, and possibly J.R. Smith as well.
The deal will send Dellavedova's status into uncertainty next offseason, but the league's rising salary cap could potentially secure the guard a more substantial contract.
It's definitely encouraging news to see Dellavedova back with a contender like the Cavaliers, and should all go well, be able to make an impact in the frenzied atmosphere of the playoffs once more.