Cavaliers restricted free agent Matthew Dellavedova agreed to a four-year, $38 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, a league source confirmed. The Cavs will have three days from the time Dellavedova signs it, presumably July 7, to match.
ESPN reported the Cavs and Bucks have discussed a sign-and-trade for Dellavedova, but there is no traction yet.
Dellavedova averaged 7.5 points and 4.4 assists while shooting 41 percent from 3-point range last season. He developed into a dependable catch-and-shoot point guard with a terrific assist-to-turnover ratio after he was an undrafted free agent three years ago, but he struggled in the Cavs’ postseason march to a championship and eventually fell out of coach Tyronn Lue’s rotation.
LeBron James tweeted out his congratulations to Dellavedova shortly after ESPN first reported the agreement, an indication the Cavs aren’t going to match.
“Good luck in Milwaukee,” James wrote. “Very deserving to you and your family.”
Dellavedova marks the second Cavs player to reach an agreement on the first day of free agency after Timofey Mozgov agreed to a four-year, $64 million offer with the Los Angeles Lakers. Contracts cannot be signed until July 7, when the league’s moratorium is lifted.
Mozgov’s defection wasn’t much of a surprise — the Cavs had concluded by the end of the regular season he likely wasn’t coming back.
At one point, Mozgov was expected to be in line for a max deal or close to it. That was before his disappointing final season in Cleveland, when he fell from starter to completely out of the rotation by the start of the postseason.
Mozgov averaged 6.3 points and 4.4 rebounds in 76 games (48 starts) for the Cavs, although he only played about 17 minutes per game. He agreed to terms with the Lakers within the first hour of free agency Friday.
With both Mozgov and Dellavedova on their way out, the most prominent remaining free agent on the Cavs is J.R. Smith. Despite his best efforts to rehabilitate his image, there remains skepticism Smith will be able to land a long-term deal in free agency. He could return to the Cavs on another lucrative, short-term deal similar to the one-plus-one he signed last summer.
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.