The Cleveland Cavaliers are welcoming an old pal back into the fold. The Cavs re-acquired point guard Matthew Dellavedova from the Milwaukee Bucks, along with John Henson and a couple of draft picks, in exchange for veteran guard George Hill. The Washington Wizards also joined the fray as the third team in the trade by acquiring forward Sam Dekker, while Jason Smith and a second-round pick were sent to the Bucks.
Cavs center Tristan Thompson is ecstatic to see his “Aussie brother” don the wine and gold once again, and he can’t wait to be the recipient of one of Delly’s lobs:
“I’m glad my Aussie brother is back,” Thompson said per Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “He brings veteran leadership, is a guy who’s won before, guy that’s going to push Collin (Sexton), control the second unit, and he’ll make shots. He’s good at throwing lobs to me.”
Delly-to-Thompson lobs were a staple at The Quicken Loans Arena. The two definitely developed good on-court chemistry as they were able to connect consistently with those alley-oop plays.
Dellavedova was a crowd favorite in Cleveland, especially after he admirably filled in for the injured Kyrie Irving in the 2015 NBA Finals in their matchup against the Golden State Warriors. With Irving out of commission due to a knee injury, Delly had huge All-Star shoes to fill. But the Australian guard showed that he could handle the big stage and made life difficult for the MVP at the time, Stephen Curry.
Delly’s grit and toughness won over the Cavs faithful, and he was one of the key rotation pieces for the team when they won their first ever NBA title in 2016. However, that summer, the Cavs agreed to sign-and-trade the guard after he agreed to a four-year, $38-million contract with Milwaukee.
Fortunately for him, two years later, the basketball gods have redirected Dellavedova’s fate back to The Land, where he made his name.