Matthew Dellavedova Rumors | Hoops Rumors

California Notes: Jackson, Wall, Zubac, Kings, Poole

October 16th, 2022 at 10:23pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue has claimed that a report indicating that Reggie Jackson had won the L.A. starting point guard gig over John Wall did not come from him, and that he has yet to make a final decision, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles will play its first regular season contest this Thursday.

“Both guys are in a great position, and their mindset is in the right place,” Lue said. “It is about winning. It is not about who’s the starter, who’s the best player. It’s about the right fit and trying to win, and both of those guys are on board with that.”

Here’s more out of California:

Clippers center Ivica Zubac spoke with Mark Medina of NBA.com for a wide-ranging conversation that touched on the team’s hoped-for title contention this season, its stars’ injury woes, the development of Zubac around the rim, and more. Zubac also gave head coach Tyronn Lue a rave review. “Ty has been around the team and me for a while, even before he became a head coach,” Zubac noted. “He’s been seeing the progress for a while. It’s in big part thanks to him. He’s been pushing us. Last season, he asked me to do some things on the court that he hadn’t asked me to do in a while. He involved me more offensively. I think that was a big part of my progression.”
Following a rigorous training camp, the Kings opted to retain point guard Matthew Dellavedova, forward Chima Moneke, and power forward KZ Okpala into the regular season. Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee breaks down how the new Sacramento additions made the grade. All are currently signed to non-guaranteed deals with the team. “As training camp has gone on, [Moneke] is trending upwards,” head coach Mike Brown said. “I think the initial shock of being in the NBA and the speed and athleticism and all that stuff caught him off guard a little bit, but he belongs on this level and he can help us. I think KZ, too. Both of those guys were two of my first calls, even before I really got the job.” Brown also raved about Dellavedova’s effort on defense. “If Davion [Mitchell] ain’t going hard, he will get embarrassed by Delly… If [De’Aaron] Fox isn’t going hard, he will get embarrassed by Delly. To have a guy like that raises the level of intensity.”
Warriors reserve guard Jordan Poole signed a four-year contract extension with Golden State worth up to $140MM. Now, new details have emerged about the contract’s various incentives. Anthony Slater of The Athletic unpacks the deal, revealing that – beyond the guaranteed $123MM – Poole will make an extra $1.25MM per year (i.e. $5MM across all four seasons) depending on how far the team gets in the playoffs. He will net an additional $1MM for each year he wins the league MVP award (so a very, very hypothetical total of $4MM), plus $1MM annually per every Defensive Player of the Year award. Considering his skillset, earning either honor even once seems fairly far-fetched. Poole could earn $500K per season should he qualify for an All-NBA team (there are a total of 15 such slots available) and another $500K annually should he qualify for an All-Defensive Team (there are 10 available openings). Slater notes that it is possible Poole grows into being an All-NBA talent, but is skeptical he could ever be an elite defender or named the league MVP.

Kings Waive Sam Merrill, Set Roster For Season

October 15th, 2022 at 4:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran guard Matthew Dellavedova and forwards KZ Okpala and Chima Moneke have claimed the final three spots on the Kings‘ 15-man roster to open the regular season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Veteran wing Sam Merrill had also been vying for a regular season roster spot, but the Kings have opted to waive him, as Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee tweets.

The team also cut Jeriah Horne and Alex O’Connell, per James Ham of ESPN 1320 Sacramento (Twitter link), who says the plan is for both players to join the Stockton Kings, Sacramento’s G League affiliate.

Okpala earned some starts at power forward for Sacramento this preseason and always seemed like a safe bet to make the roster. Dellavedova, meanwhile, looked like a logical keeper after the team waived another veteran point guard, Quinn Cook. Moneke has spent the last several years playing in international leagues and will be getting his first shot in the NBA as a 26-year-old rookie.

Okpala and Moneke currently have partial guarantees worth $250K and will earn another $250K if they remain on the roster through Wednesday. Dellavedova is on a non-guaranteed contract and will also get $250K for sticking through Wednesday.

Merrill’s contract included a $150K partial guarantee. The Kings will be on the hook for that amount unless he’s claimed on waivers on Monday.

Pacific Notes: Beverley, Westbrook, Saric, Kings

September 1st, 2022 at 11:20pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Since the Lakers traded for veteran point guard Patrick Beverley, the future of 2021/22 starter Russell Westbrook has seemed murky. Mirjam Swanson of the Orange County Register wonders if the duo can actually share the floor together, or at the very least both stick around on the team this season.

Swanson reads tea leaves in recent public statements from head coach Darvin Ham and team owner Jeanie Buss that seem to suggest they appreciate Westbrook and his contributions to the club last year. Swanson writes that, because Beverley can function so well off the ball as a catch-and-shoot long range sniper, and can defend at least both guard positions, he could theoretically play alongside Westbrook, who tends to be significantly more ball-dominant.

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

With Donovan Mitchell headed to the Cavaliers, Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times opines that the Lakers could look to move Westbrook (and draft compensation) to the Jazz, who have already offloaded four of their best veteran players in separate deals this summer, including both their All-Stars. Woike writes that combo forward Bojan Bogdanovic should be L.A.’s top priority, and also floats the possibility of adding some combination of Mike Conley, Jordan Clarkson, Malik Beasley and Rudy Gay into such a deal.
Suns reserve big man Dario Saric missed all of the 2021/22 season while he recovered from a ruptured ACL in his right knee suffered in the first game of the 2021 Finals. The 6’10” big man played well during the Croatian national team’s FIBA EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifiers in August, writes Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic.
Three reserve point guards will be duking it out during the Kings‘ training camp later this month. James Ham of Kings Beat assesses each player in terms of their relative strengths and weaknesses on the current Sacramento roster. As a former lottery pick, defensive-oriented second-year guard Davion Mitchell seems guaranteed to get some run behind pricey starter De’Aaron Fox. Ham predicts that Quinn Cook could have an edge over Matthew Dellavedova as the team’s third point guard option.

Contract Details: Dellavedova, McGruder, Knox

August 3rd, 2022 at 12:11pm CST by Luke Adams

Matthew Dellavedova‘s new one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Kings, originally reported as partially guaranteed, is actually non-guaranteed for the time being, Hoops Rumors has learned.

Dellavedova will receive a partial guarantee of $250K if he’s not waived before Sacramento’s first game of the regular season, then would lock in his full $2.63MM guarantee if he remains under contract through the NBA’s league-wide guarantee deadline of January 7.

Here are a few more details on recently signed NBA contracts:

Rodney McGruder‘s one-year, minimum-salary deal with the Pistons is fully guaranteed, Hoops Rumors has learned. That gives Detroit 17 players on guaranteed contracts, though one of those players (Kemba Walker) is very likely to be bought out. The Pistons would still have to trade or release one more player with a guaranteed salary in order to get to the 15-man regular season limit.
Kevin Knox‘s two-year, $6MM contract with the Pistons is worth a flat $3MM in each of the two seasons. While the first year is guaranteed, the deal includes a team option for the 2023/24 season.
As expected, Goran Dragic‘s one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Bulls and JaMychal Green‘s with the Warriors are both fully guaranteed.

Kings Sign Matthew Dellavedova

July 29th, 2022 at 2:03pm CST by Luke Adams

2:03pm: It’s a one-year, partially guaranteed contract for Dellavedova, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

1:59pm: The Kings have signed free agent guard Matthew Dellavedova, the team announced today (via Twitter).

Dellavedova, who will turn 32 in September, has 447 regular season NBA appearances under his belt, having spent eight years playing for the Cavaliers and Bucks. However, he was limited to just 13 games with Cleveland in 2020/21 (his last NBA season) due to various health issues, including a concussion and an emergency appendectomy.

The Australian guard returned home to play for Melbourne United this past season and had a solid season with the club, averaging 10.6 PPG, 4.9 APG, and 3.0 RPG on .407/.380/.756 shooting in 27 contests (25.3 MPG).

Dellavedova reportedly worked out for the Kings and new head coach Mike Brown – who coached the veteran in Cleveland – in Las Vegas earlier this month in the hopes of earning a camp invite. Sacramento has been on the lookout for point guard depth, having also been linked to Quinn Cook.

While the terms of Dellavedova’s new contract aren’t yet known, it will almost certainly be worth the veteran’s minimum. It’s possible his salary won’t be fully guaranteed, but I expect he’ll have an opportunity to earn a regular season roster spot this fall.

Kings Interested In Quinn Cook

July 23rd, 2022 at 9:28am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Kings are eyeing free agent guard Quinn Cook, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee reports.

Sacramento is one of several teams talking to the free agent point guard. Cook finished last season with the team’s G League affiliate, the Stockton Kings.

The NBA Kings are looking for a No. 3 point guard behind De’Aaron Fox and Davion Mitchell. They planned to hold workouts for Cook and another veteran free agent point guard, Matthew Dellavedova, during the Summer League in Las Vegas, says Anderson.

Cook, 29, didn’t see action in any NBA games last season but had a combined 23 appearances for the Lakers and Cavaliers in 2020/21. He has also played for Golden State, Dallas and New Orleans during his 188-game NBA career, averaging 6.4 PPG and 1.6 APG in 14.1 MPG while making 40.8% of his 3-point attempts. In 11 games with Stockton last season, he put up 23.5 PPG, 5.9 APG and 4.9 RPG.

Matthew Dellavedova Auditioning For Kings

July 9th, 2022 at 7:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

7:08pm: Quinn Cook and Shabazz Muhammad also have workouts set for the Kings this week, tweets James Ham of ESPN 1320. Sacramento has three roster spots to fill.

6:44pm: Matthew Dellavedova is working out for the Kings in Las Vegas in hopes of earning an invitation to training camp, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

The 31-year-old Australian guard played for the Cavaliers during the 2020/21 season, but was limited to 13 games because of various injuries, a concussion and an emergency appendectomy. He returned home to play for Melbourne United this past season, but is hoping for an NBA comeback.

McMenamin notes that Mike Brown, Sacramento’s new head coach, was coaching in Cleveland when Dellavedova broke into the NBA in 2013.

Dellavedova played 447 games in eight NBA seasons, mostly with the Cavaliers, though he also spent some time with the Bucks. Known as an on-court leader and a scrappy defender, he was part of Cleveland’s championship team in 2016.

Dellavedova Seeks Eventual Return To NBA

August 28th, 2021 at 11:59am CST by Dana Gauruder

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.

Matthew Dellavedova Signs With Australian Team

July 9th, 2021 at 10:44am CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 9: Dellavedova’s deal with Melbourne United is now official and will cover three years, according to a press release.

JULY 8: Matthew Dellavedova is signing with Melbourne United in Australia’s NBL, ESPN’s Olgun Uluc tweets.

The 30-year-old guard appeared in just 13 games with the Cavaliers this season before becoming an unrestricted free agent. Dellavedova’s season was wrecked by a variety of ailments, including a concussion, whiplash, an emergency appendectomy, and a neck strain.

Dellavedova had two stints with the Cavs. He played his first three seasons there and had a key reserve role on Cleveland’s 2016 championship team. He moved on for 1 1/2 seasons with the Bucks before returning to the Cavs during the 2018/19 campaign.

In 447 career NBA games, Dellavedova averaged 5.5 PPG and 3.7 APG.

The signing will allow Dellavedova to return to his home state of Victoria. Melbourne United is the NBL’s reigning champion.

Dellavedova is slated to play in the Olympics for the Australian national team.

And-Ones: Australian Olympic Team, James, Missia-Dio, Spurs

July 3rd, 2021 at 11:55am CST by Dana Gauruder

Numerous current NBA players were named to the Australian national team’s final 12-man roster for the Olympics, ESPN’s Olgun Uluc tweets. The team is headlined by Patty Mills, Matthew Dellavedova, Joe Ingles, Aron Baynes, Matisse Thybulle, Dante Exum and Josh Green.

Projected lottery pick Josh Giddey is not on the 12-man roster but has been named as one of three replacement players, Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets. Giddey will travel to Las Vegas for Australia’s exhibition games, Givony adds. He’s currently rated No. 9 overall on ESPN’s Best Available list.

We have more from around the basketball world:

LeBron James passed on the Olympics this year and it’s unlikely he’ll play for Team USA again, managing director Jerry Colangelo said on ESPN’s Keyshawn, JWill and Zubin radio show (video link). “LeBron made choices these last couple of Olympics not to participate because he’s got a lot of things going on in his life,” Colangelo said. “So he put in his time, he made a contribution that is appreciated, but I think his time is over.” James’ last Olympic appearance came during the 2012 London Games.
Belgian forward Nathan Missia-Dio became the ninth player to sign with Overtime Elite, according to a league press release. The new development league will begin play in September. Missia-Dio, a 6’6” forward, played two seasons for Espoirs Limoges in France’s Elite U21 League. He is ranked 13th by Eurospects.com among international prospects born in 2004.
The Spurs are seeking a new naming-rights sponsor for their arena, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News tweets. Longtime sponsor AT&T won’t renew its current deal, which expires in the fall of 2022. AT&T has also sold off its 7.23% share of the team. Front Office Sports first reported the news.