Matthew Dellavedova and the NBA

One of my favorite events of the year is the WCC Tournament, primarily of a few things: 1. Las Vegas. 2. School Pride. 3. Lots of high level basketball in a short amount of time.

So on semi-final Saturday, after Gonzaga dispatched upstart LMU, I walked over to take my seat at press row when I noticed (at the time former) Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown. Brown and Saint Mary’s head coach Randy Bennett are good friends, and when the Gaels played in the Anaheim Classic back over Thanksgiving Break, Brown was in attendance. With Dellavedova being a senior, I was curious what he had to say. I remember I asked him if he would want Dellavedova on his team, and his overall thoughts on the point guard, and he told me that while he isn’t good in evaluating prospects (he was sitting next to Cavs GM Chris Grant), he believed that Dellavedova could catch on to an NBA team, be a solid bench option his first 2-3 years, and eventually develop into a starting point guard. Develop.

Currently, Dellavedova is out in Brooklyn, working out with other NBA draft propescts, and, by all accounts, holding his own. This workout is meant for “fringe prospects,” possible late second-rounders, but all worthy of a summer league workout. The Nets are holding one this week and Minnesota will next week. Dellavedova and Elias Harris are two of the 22 players playing in New Jersey.

Dellavedova played in the second of the 5v5 sessions, and stood out as the best guard on the floor.

He had a stretch where he hit back-to-back threes and burned Vincent Council on a back-door cut for an easy layup. At 6’4″, Dellavedova has solid size for a guard, but he doesn’t have great speed to keep up with the likes of pros.

Although he wasn’t invited to the NBA Combine, scouts and NBA minds are aware of his skill set and smarts. One of my co-workers ran into a Knicks scout at the WCC Tournament and he echoed the same thing. The one knock on Dellavedova is his speed and ability to guard quick guards. My quick take on that: when he doesn’t have to carry the offense but be an efficient point guard, he can put most of his energy into defense and play well. While his stats from the 2012 London Olympics aren’t flashy, a close look at his game there, resembles one of who could develop into a solid NBA Player.