Dellavedova Seeks Eventual Return To NBA

When Matthew Dellavedova signed with an Australian team this summer, it was fair to assume he had played his last NBA game.

That’s not necessarily the case. Dellavedova hopes to revive his career in his native country, then return to the NBA, according to Kane Pitman of ESPN. Dellavedova, who played for the Cavaliers last season, signed with Melbourne United in early July.

“My goal is to get back to the NBA. I feel like I’ve got a lot more left in the tank, a lot of things to improve on,” Dellavedova said. “There were some talks with NBA teams, nothing concrete at this stage. Overseas there were pretty significant offers, but I’ve always wanted to come and play here.”

Dellavedova, who turns 31 next month, had a rough NBA 2020/21 campaign.  He appeared in just 13 games due to a variety of ailments, including a concussion, whiplash, an emergency appendectomy, and a neck strain. He then entered the summer as an unrestricted free agent.

Better health has Dellavedova feeling optimistic about his future.

“The body is feeling great. That’s the main thing, I feel like I just need to put a good chunk of time together training but also games,” he said. “Playing a lot of minutes and having the ball in my hands, making decisions and things like that. I’m going to have a great opportunity to do that with United.”

In 447 career NBA games, Dellavedova averaged 5.5 PPG and 3.7 APG. Melbourne United is the NBL’s reigning champion.

He played for the Australian national team in the Olympics but had a limited role.

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