CLEVELAND: One of the biggest contributions Matthew Dellavedova made on the court for the Cavaliers last season was an ability to make open 3-pointers. Although he slumped toward the end of the season, Dellavedova consistently punished defenses who left him open around the perimeter.
Now coach Tyronn Lue is hoping Mike Dunleavy can fill that void.
Dunleavy scored 14 points in Sunday’s Wine & Gold scrimmage, including shooting 3-of-4 on 3-pointers. Last season with the Chicago Bulls, Dunleavy shot 52 percent on wide-open 3-point attempts — when the nearest defender was at least six feet away — and he’s assured of seeing more open looks playing alongside LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. By comparison, Dellavedova shot 45 percent last season using the same parameters.
“With the guys that we have and the attention they draw — LeBron, Kyrie, even our bigs — there will be possibilities,” Dunleavy said Sunday. “Just got to be ready to shoot.”
Dunleavy was the star of the scrimmage, if there is such a thing. The score was reset to 0-0 after each of the three quarters, teams were mixed and matched throughout the day and the Cavs played under a running clock. Lue even called the scrimmage with time remaining. Still, it was the Cavs’ first appearance back at Quicken Loans Arena since winning the NBA championship.
James did not play. Lue called it a routine day off and expects him to be back at practice on Monday. But Lue said James is also likely to follow a similarly light schedule during the preseason, such as last year when he only played in two games. The Cavs’ first preseason game is Wednesday and Lue isn’t sure yet whether James will play.
Irving totaled six points and four assists, including a nifty lob off the backboard that Iman Shumpert dunked. Love had 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Dunleavy’s 14 led all scorers. At 36, he is expected to share a role with fellow 36-year-old Richard Jefferson, who played big minutes at big moments during the Cavs’ championship run. Jefferson is more athletic than Dunleavy, who missed half of last season after back surgery. But Dunleavy is the better shooter, which is what attracted the Cavs to him last summer.
“Gives us great shooting,” Lue said. “He’s a great team defender and whatever you do, he’s always going to be in the right spot. I just think when you’re playing with guys like Kyrie, Kevin and LeBron, you can get all those you want. If you can shoot the basketball, you can be very valuable.”
Dunleavy was a gift that fell into the Cavs’ lap once Dwyane Wade chose to leave the Miami Heat and sign with the Bulls, who did not have the necessary cap space to sign Wade.
They had to unload Dunleavy’s $4.8 million contract to make the numbers work, and after some creative cap maneuvering, Cavs general manager David Griffin created the necessary trade exception to obtain Dunleavy without touching the Cavs’ more valuable $9.6 million trade exception they received for trading away Anderson Varejao. The Cavs essentially traded Dellavedova for Dunleavy.
The Cavs aggressively pursued Dunleavy three years ago in free agency, but he ultimately chose a two-year deal from the Bulls for less money. That version of the Cavs obviously looked far different than the championship team he’s joining now. Dunleavy has spent the last 10 years bouncing around this division from the Indiana Pacers to the Milwaukee Bucks, Bulls and now the Cavs.
“Obviously the team has gotten better and better and LeBron showing up, they became a lot more appealing,” Dunleavy said. “It all worked out. Made my rounds around the Central Division and figured at some point, I was going to make it to Cleveland.”
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.