It’s all but a certainty that any deal related to the Cavs, Knicks, or Nets will be tied to “luring Lebron in 2010″. Well the recent rumors of Zach Randolph being shopped to Memphis for Darko Milicic and Antoine Walker’s bloated expiring deal have done just that. From Hoopsworld:
This morning’s top NBA story was a trade rumor that the New York Knicks and Memphis Grizzlies could be close to a deal that would send Antoine Walker and Darko Milicic to the Knicks for the often-rumored Zach Randolph. No doubt Knicks fans are scratching their heads . . .and maybe Grizzlies fans, too.
On the Knicks side of the ledger, this would be all about taking $17 million off of their payroll in time for the 2010 NBA free agency period. Milicic’s deal ends that summer and Walker’s contract has a player option that could take him off the books even a year earlier should he choose to exercise it. Ultimately, the move would be made in order to set up a courtship of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James.
Prepare to be ballwashed Mr. Ilgauskas. There couldn’t be less news going on if we lived in China so I’ve decided that you’ve earned a look back at your achievements in the NBA, and a look towards your post-career legacy.
Certain statistics get brought up all the time during FSN Ohio Cavalier broadcasts. Things like Lebron James’s 4th quarter scoring average, the NBA’s “youngest to” stats, or where James’s season statistics rank against the greats like Magic, Oscar Robertson, and Larry Bird are plastered all over Cavs telecasts. The graphics are ready to go and are used as frequently as the dump button for microphones within 20 feet of Kevin Garnett during an NBA game.
But last year, during one of the Cavaliers regular season match-ups with the Celtics, FSN pulled out a new statistic that I had to let sink in.
At that time, Zydrunas Ilgauskas trailed only Paul Pierce as the NBA player with the longest tenure on one team yet to win a championship (642 games for Zydrunas Ilgauskas to Pierce’s 732). He now sits atop that statistic, for better or worse, as the one stable component to Cavaliers’ basketball for the last decade.
He has played in 642 games for the Cavaliers during his 11 year career, and the his most celebrated moment was quite possibly when he was the recipient of a hug from Lebron James after winning the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals.
Look at the photo. His face is shielded from view, and when time passes and future generations unfamiliar with his game reflect upon Z’s contributions, that photo gives the impression that he was riding the pine (thanks to the warmups). Z has had plenty of on-court triumphs, but none on the NBA’s biggest stage, and it’d be a shame if the most viewed video of Big Z on YouTube turns out to be this one:
Don’t worry. There’s competition (such as directly below), but generally speaking, if you’re YouTube highlight video contains footage of making regular season free throws and starts with you missing your first attempt, you’re game wasn’t one that translates well to the YouTube generation.
But as much as I kid about his awkward motion on the court, or his less than exciting midrange and free throw proficiency, Z is taken for granted by too many.
For the better part of 10 years, Cavs fans have had an upper echelon center when the rest of the team has been in constant flux. While he’s only made two All-Star appearances (2003 and 2005), a look at his numbers shows a tremendous level of consistency. While other centers have fallen off considerably after the age of 30, Z is still going strong and has developed the strengths in his game that will remain in tact irrespective of age (i.e. his shooting touch, his ability to hit free throws).
His 2007-2008 season brought his best year for rebounding (9.3 per game), his 4th most productive scoring year (at 14.1 points per game), and a third consecutive season of shooting north of 80% on his free throw attempts. He also logged more than 70 games for the 6th straight season.
Six names grace the retired numbers list of the Cleveland Cavaliers. They are as follows:
7 - Bingo Smith, F, 1970-79 (12.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 720 games as a Cavalier)
22 - Larry Nance, F, 1988-94 (16.8 ppg, 8.22 rpg, 2.5 bpg, 433 games as a Cavalier)
25 - Mark Price, G, 1986-95 (16.4 ppg, 7.2 apg, 90.4 FT%, 582 games as a Cavalier)
34 - Austin Carr, G, 1971-80 (16.1 ppg, 81 FT%, 635 games as a Cavalier)
42 - Nate Thurmond, C, 1975-77 (5.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 114 games as a Cavalier)
43 - Brad Daugherty, C, 1986-94 (19.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 548 games as a Cavalier)
Add Zydrunas to the mix and you wouldn’t raise many eyebrows from a numbers standpoint. Sure he presided over some of the Cavaliers worst teams following the departure of Mark Price, but one man does not make a team. Three of the Cavaliers greats (Price, Nance, and Daugherty) won so much because they happened to be on the team simultaneously, and one of the remaining three (Nate Thurmond) barely played with the Cavs. Z’s numbers nestle in there seamlessly:
11 - Zydrunas Ilgauskas, C, 1997-? (14.5 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 642 games as a Cavalier)
Now we’ll likely see those career numbers dip, but if Ilgauskas logs just 79 more games over the remainder of the two years left on his contract, he’ll be atop the list amongst Cavalier greats for the longest time wearing the Wine & Gold (or putrid lightning bolt accented white, black, and light blue…those uniforms never happened).
Every Cavs fan knows about Z’s character. They know about his resiliency, bouncing back from devastating early career foot injuries to become one of the Cavs lynchpins. They know about his personal hardships, having to suffer through some tragic events during what was the Cavaliers best season in team history. They know about how professionally he’s handled the Cavs decision not to allow him to compete in the Olympics due to injury concerns (a decision that despite my love for the Cavs I wish they would have reconsidered).
And hopefully, when Z walks away, future generations will know him as the last player in Cavalier history to wear #11 and the second to hoist a championship trophy (right after Lebron gets to touch it).
If you’re an optimistic Cavs fan you’ve undoubtedly thought about the idea of Lebron James being joined in Cleveland by a player of Dwayne Wade or Chris Bosh’s stature. It’s a possibility that we’ve discussed as the Cavs approach the Summer of 2010, but after watching the Olympics, the Plains Dealer’s Patrick McManamon can’t help but consider the possibility of adding another superstar alongside Lebron James when that summer arrives. Here’s some of what he had to say (click here to read the whole article).
The vision — and it’s not a pipe dream — has James staying and playing on the same team as Dwyane Wade. Or Chris Bosh. Or Josh Howard. Or Amare Stoudamire. Or any of the other big-name NBA guys who can become a free agent in the summer of 2010.
Don’t laugh.
There is only one NBA team positioned to sign two superstars in 2010, and that’s the Cavaliers.
That’s because there’s only one team with a superstar and the cap room to sign another.
Everyone has been focusing on the cap space of the New Jersey Nets or the New York Knicks or Athens, Greece, but the Cavs quietly have manipulated themselves to the point that they have more salary-cap room than anyone for that offseason.
The Cavs have almost $30 million in cap space — and that counts James’ salary, which will go away when he opts out of his final year.
It should be noted that there will be other teams attempting to carve out cap space that could attempt the same thing as the Cavs. But it’s dependent upon them already possessing one of those NBA superstars and being able to open up enough space for an additional max deal. While it’s a rarity that things work out when trying to coordinate two massive signings (i.e. Clippers), this summer certainly brought together some key players in how teams will plan for and spend their money. You have imagine some hypothetical “wouldn’t it be nice to play together” conversations happened.
There is also consideration that must be given to what the Cavs will do with their expiring contracts between now and then. On a team so desperately trying to get a title, it’s going to take a lot of restraint by Danny Ferry not to move any of these attractive expiring deals and instead keep them for the cap relief that would be needed to execute a two-star summer of 2010 like Patrick alludes to in his article.
If any of those deals get moved this year or during the 2009-2010 season, the Cavs would likely be taking back longer contracts in order to upgrade the talent around Lebron. That’s the value in the expiring deal, hence why teams give up better players to accumulate them. It will be a calculated measure of “win now” versus “how big of a splash can the Cavs make in the Summer of 2010″ that determines the roster moves over the next two years.
Just something to dream about in afterglow of American gold.
Devin Brown has signed with the Hornets, not that it was much of a surprise to Cavs fans that he wouldn’t be returning:
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Hornets have called a news conference and a team source tells the Associated Press that Devin Brown will rejoin the team.
The Cavaliers signed Brown, who was a free agent, in 2007.
The Hornets will announce Brown’s signing Friday afternoon.
During the 2006-07 season with the Hornets, Brown averaged 11.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists.
The 6-foot-5 Brown can play both guard positions as well as small forward.
Brown fills the void created by Jannero Pargo leaving to play in Russia.
Well the Denver Nuggets finally signed J.R. Smith, which should effectively end any discussions of him with the Cavs, that weren’t ended after Maurice Williams was acquired. From the Rocky Mountain News:
The Nuggets have re-signed guard J.R. Smith to a multi-year contract, the team announced Friday.
Terms of the deal were not released. As of a month ago, Smith said he hasn’t gotten an offer from the Nuggets, other than the option to return next season for the $3.04 million qualifying offer. He turned down a three-year extension offer in October worth about $10 million, and there have been no indications the Nuggets are willing to offer a lot more.
“We’re extremely delighted to have J.R. back,” said Mark Warkentien, vice president of basketball operations. “His blend of off-the-charts-athleticism and long-range shooting ability is rare, especially for someone his age. We believe his best basketball is still to come.”
The 22-year-old has averaged 12.6 points in 137 regular-season games for the Nuggets the past two seasons. He has shot 39.6 percent (306-for-772) from three-point range, the best percentage in Nuggets history (minimum 100 made treys).
Last season, he averaged 12.3 points in 19.2 minutes a game and recorded career bests for field goal percentage (46.1) and three-point percentage (40.3). He led the NBA in three-point field goals made per 48 minutes (5.3) and twice tied the team record for three-pointers made in a quarter with seven.
Denver acquired the 6-foot-6 swingman from Chicago on July 20, 2006, in exchange for Howard Eisley and two second-round draft picks. He was originally selected by the New Orleans Hornets in the first round (18th overall) of the 2004 NBA Draft.
It’s all but a certainty that any deal related to the Cavs, Knicks, or Nets will be tied to “luring Lebron in 2010″. Well the recent rumors of Zach Randolph being shopped to Memphis for Darko Milicic and Antoine Walker’s bloated expiring deal have done just that. From Hoopsworld:
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If you’re an optimistic Cavs fan you’ve undoubtedly thought about the idea of Lebron James being joined in Cleveland by a player of Dwayne Wade or Chris Bosh’s stature. It’s a possibility that we’ve discussed as the Cavs approach the Summer of 2010, but after watching the Olympics, the Plains Dealer’s Patrick McManamon can’t help but consider the possibility of adding another superstar alongside Lebron James when that summer arrives. Here’s some of what he had to say (
Devin Brown has signed with the Hornets, not that it was much of a surprise to Cavs fans that he wouldn’t be returning:
Well the Denver Nuggets finally signed J.R. Smith, which should effectively end any discussions of him with the Cavs, that weren’t ended after Maurice Williams was acquired. 
