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12/22/2024 11:03:11 pm

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NBA News & Rumors: Clippers Could 'Pursue' Matthew Dellavedova in Coming Free-Agency Period

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova

(Photo : Getty Images) Rumors are out that the Los Angeles Clippers could “pursue” the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Australian guard Matthew Dellavedova in the upcoming free-agency period as Doc Rivers looks to “fine-tune the bench” this offseason.

Rumors are out that the Los Angeles Clippers could "pursue" the Cleveland Cavaliers' Australian guard Matthew Dellavedova in the upcoming free-agency period as Doc Rivers looks to "fine-tune the bench" this offseason.

Clipperholics' Tom West indicated that while the Clippers "have the kind of superstars to pull off blockbuster trades and shake up the league if they choose to", Rivers is more likely to keep his Big Three of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan especially when there are no promises of improvement.

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With that, improvement is said to be coming first in their bench, which had a lot of trouble last season with their failed experiments on Lance Stephenson, Josh Smith, and even Rivers' trusted warrior, Paul Pierce.

Backup point guards Austin Rivers and Pablo Prigioni are speculated to exit the club this summer, which means that it is the first position that the team should fill in.

Enter the Cavs' Dellavedova.

Delly is an ideal fit for the Clippers not only because of his affordable salary (LA may only have a $10.5 million cap space this summer at best, reports say) but also for his grit, determination, hustle, and defense on the floor, something that CP3 would approve so much.

Dellavedova is said to be an upgrade over the younger Rivers in terms of assists per 36 minutes (6.5 to 2.4 per game) and three-point shooting (41 percent to 33.5 percent) last season and an extra outside sniper will definitely not hurt the Clips who "doesn't have many serious threats from deep" to begin with.

While there are many advantages to signing Dellavedova, the real question is whether LA could offer him enough to actually join the Clippers?

Two months ago, Fansided reported that the Bucks are luring Delly to come to Milwaukee at the end of the season.

The report cited veteran NBA analyst Brian Windhorst as saying that the Bucks "would love to get their hands" on Delly as the team believes his game "fits very well" in Milwaukee.

The bottom line, though, is if LeBron James and the Cavaliers finally get that elusive crown to the city of Cleveland this summer, and Delly gets a chunk of playing time while doing that, then it is more probable that the Australian will stay where he is at the moment.

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