The Dellavedova Complex

Every so often in an NBA season, we seem to have those players that stick out from the rest.  Most of the time it is because we haven’t heard much from them before until something happens that forces the hand of the coach to put them on the floor.  I can imagine that when it comes to these situations that the coach is moaning and groaning, trying to think of any other way around the situation besides the obvious.  There are times that these situations happen at crucial times in the season that, if managed wrong, could spell the end of the season for the team.

Picture courtesy of Zimbio

A situation just like this happened in 2011 to the New York Knicks.  In 2011, the Knicks weren’t just bad, they were terrible.  The time of Mike D’Antoni on the Knicks bench was more uncomfortable than a prostitute in church.  They considered letting go of a young guard by the name of Jeremy Lin in the hopes of picking up a free agent for a spark.  In an act of desperation, Lin entered the ball game, and the rest is history.  He led the Knicks to a turn around that got them in to the playoffs after an 8-15 start which included losing 11 out of 13.  Although they lost in the first round of the playoffs, the legend of Lin was born.  He was a free agent at the end of the season and signed a three-year contract with the Rockets and was traded after two seasons to the Los Angeles Lakers.  After his years with the Knicks, he was never the same spark plug, but now serves as a serviceable backup.

This year, we have the new version of Jeremy Lin in the form of Matthew Dellavedova.  Storming on to the scene in probably the most crucial time of the season, the playoffs, Dellavedova took over when Kyrie Irving went down with his injuries in the Conference Finals and through the first three games of The Finals.  Delavedova went un-drafted out of St. Marys College in California after being named to the WCC all first team three times and the WCC player of the year in 2012.  He is receiving the ultimate baptism by fire as he is being asked to guard reigning MVP Stephen Curry.  He is showing, going to an off-season where he will be a free agent, that he can hang with the big boys after he held Curry to 19 points on 5 of 23 shooting.  Just like with Lin, Dellavedova is performing when it is needed the most and we will have to wait and see what this performance earns him in the off-season.

Picture courtesy of Zimbio

If Cleveland is smart, they will do what it takes to keep him on their roster.  The thing that all teams have to make sure that they do is not fall in love with the small sample size that they have from him.  I could see a reasonable contract for a team being along the lines of a one-year deal for about $3 million per year.  This type of contract allows a team to reward him for what he is doing this post season while still making him prove that he can do it on a regular basis.  Anything more than this would be overpaying.  At a quick glance, Dellavedova would appear to be an upgrade for about six or seven teams in the league.