The last time Matthew Dellavedova was on the Cleveland Cavaliers, the feisty point guard played a role in the team’s run to an NBA championship. He managed to parlay that into a lucrative deal with the Milwaukee Bucks during the summer of 2016, but this season, his minutes have fallen off significantly.
The solution: Just send him back to Cleveland. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that the Bucks will send Dellavedova to the Cavs as part of a package that will net the team veteran point guard George Hill and swingman Sam Dekker.
Milwaukee is finalizing a deal to send guard Matthew Dellavedova to Cleveland, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 7, 2018
Cleveland is also trading Sam Dekker in the deal to Milwaukee, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 7, 2018
Soon after, Woj reported that the Washington Wizards entered the fray and were able to acquire Dekker and Jason Smith for a future second-round pick.
As Shams Charania of The Athletic points out, Hill has been something of a hot commodity recently, as teams have been working to acquire him via a trade.
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1071175281690509314
Cleveland will also receive a solid big man in John Henson along with a pair of draft picks, a first and second-round selection in the 2021 draft.
Milwaukee is sending Dellavedova, John Henson and a first-round and future second-round pick to Cavs for George Hill, league source tells ESPN. https://t.co/L5vWlxdj8M
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 7, 2018
Milwaukee picks to Cleveland — the first and second rounders — are in 2021. https://t.co/8IHfECJaAr
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 7, 2018
This is a tremendous deal for the Cavaliers, which take on the deals that belong to a pair of vets — one of whom is beloved by fans in Cleveland. Both Dellavedova and Henson will be off the books following the 2019-20 season, and for their efforts, they net a pair of future draft picks.
For Milwaukee, this is a chance to bolster their roster with a pair of players who can help them in one way or another, as Hill gives them a steady hand in the backcourt while Dekker is connecting on 38.5 percent of his threes this season, albeit on 1.4 attempts per game. Plus it’s a savvy move for the Bucks financially, as Wojnarowski points out they stand to save big by getting off of Dellavedova and Henson’s deals.
Milwaukee will save $18M in salary in the 2019-20 season with the trade, which allows them flexibility to continue to upgrade roster. Cavaliers continue show a willingness to take on money to gather draft picks.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 7, 2018
Both teams benefit from this in one way or another, and it’s going to be fascinating to see where the go from here — Cleveland because it can be aggressive in taking on salary for future assets, Milwaukee because it now has a little more money to play with going forward.
