Milwaukee Bucks: The Cleveland Perspective on Matthew Dellavedova

Jun 22, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova greets the crowd during the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA championship celebration in downtown Cleveland. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 22, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova greets the crowd during the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA championship celebration in downtown Cleveland. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 6
Next

Ahead of joining the Milwaukee Bucks, Matthew Dellavedova has earned no shortage of love and adulation from the fans in Cleveland. Why? We talked to the staff of King James Gospel to find out.

June 1, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova (8) addresses the media in a press conference during NBA Finals media day at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
June 1, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova (8) addresses the media in a press conference during NBA Finals media day at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

In reading, discussing and researching Matthew Dellavedova over the course of the past week, there has been one aspect that has stood out above all others to me.

For as much as Dellavedova owns a reputation of being a “dirty” player, or is disliked by fans of many other teams around the NBA, he was adored and valued quite highly by the city of Cleveland.

Of course, winning a title helps with that, but this runs much deeper for fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers. It runs far enough back to predate LeBron James‘ return to Ohio, and for a player who on the surface appears distinctly average, it’s a fascinating and special relationship to investigate.

More from Bucks News

We’ve already done our own deep dives into Dellavedova’s game, we’ve graded the signing and discussed him at length on our most recent podcast, but still there was one key story that we couldn’t get to the bottom of alone.

With feelings on the acquisition of the Australian still best described as mixed among Bucks fans, it was time to find out why we could end up loving him too, and perhaps even more importantly, how he’ll earn that respect and admiration.

With the help of our friends over at FanSided’s Cleveland Cavaliers site King James Gospel, I’ve managed to compile the thoughts of those who already know him best.

Editor Aaron Ferguson and his staff writers Chris De Silva, Jacob Gries, Mikaela Rakos and Jackson Flickinger, join me to teach us a little bit more about what could be in store for Delly, the player and the character, as he enters his next chapter with the Bucks.

Next: Winning Milwaukee Over