Aussies in NBA: The Dellavedova Stalemate
The waters of restricted free agency have turned slightly murky for Matthew Dellavedova.
After an initial qualifying offer, the Cleveland Cavaliers were keen to get Matthew Dellavedova locked down, and began discussions around a multi-year deal.
Right now, progress appears to have come to a standstill.
A large part of this apparently, is due to Cleveland's current luxury tax situation, and ramifications Dellavedova's proposed deal could have on the luxury tax bill. According to former Nets assistant GM Bobby Marks, Dellavedova's projected salary could very well tack an extra $14 million onto their luxury tax bill.
$14 million taxes (plus $4 million salary) equals $18 million, a hefty number to pay for a role player, even for one as impactful as Dellavedova. Note Kevin Love's new salary is but $19 million for the coming 2015-16 season.
Marks has also suggested various avenues available for Delly, one of which includes accepting the Cavs' qualifying offer of $1.1 million.
Cleveland GM David Griffin described Delly's restricted free agency as "a totally different process", and wants to retain his services "if it all can be worked out", obviously subject to salary negotiations.
The tone of the discussion still remains positive, but it's up to the Cavaliers to figure out, just exactly how much more they are willing to pay in luxury tax to keep the feisty guard. We have to consider the fact that Mo Williams' signing does relegate Dellavedova to the role of bench insurance, over being Kyrie Irving's backup.
Should Delly take one for the team, and accept the qualifying offer? It's unclear if other teams have competing interest for his services, which should skew negotiations in Cleveland's favour.
In the worst circumstance, we might even see Matty in another jersey next season. One way or another, we should see an outcome very soon.