Posted on Monday 11 July 2005 by JEC @ 10:49 pm
Just days after agreeing to terms with free-agent guard Larry Hughes, the Cavaliers have reportedly re-signed Zydrunas Ilgauskas to a five-year, $60 million deal. Judging by the results of our poll, I’m one of the few who thought the Cavs would be better off with a more athletic center but at the very least, if Danny Ferry insisted on bringing Z back, I’d hoped it would be a reasonable contract. Unfortunately, $12 million annually for five years just doesn’t seem all that reasonable to me.
On the bright side, Z’s signing likely means the Cavs have a better shot at landing fellow Lithuanian Sarunas Jasikevicius, a highly coveted point guard who would instantly improve the team’s outside shooting.
July 12 UPDATE: The ABJ is reporting that the first year of Z’s contract will be worth roughly $9 million, which is both good and bad news. The good news is, the Cavs will still have about $6 million to throw at a point guard, most likely Jasikevicius, one of Z’s best friends. The bad news, though, is that Ilguaskas’ escalating contract will probably be a financial burden before it’s all said and done, although the Beacon Journal also reports the fifth year of the deal is not fully guaranteed.
I think the key will be the dollar amount for the first year because that will affect how much cap room they have. I read somewhere that they were hoping to keep the first year of Z’s deal to $10 million or less, so it looks like they’re in that ballpark (since the amounts typically escalate each year). The key is having enough cap room left to sign that Lithuanian point guard - who also happens to be the best man at Z’s wedding, so maybe things are falling into place.
If the Cavs top everything off by signing Jasikevicius, that’d be one hell of an offseason.
I would be surprised if that isn’t the next move. SJ (his new nickname in my book) would be crazy not to select Cleveland with the money the Cavs can spend and with his best friend on the team. This team is headed to the playoffs with or without him.
They will then need to turn their attention to power forward and backup center. Do they keep Gooden???
Sure, they’ll keep Gooden, but they aren’t going to give him the extension he’s eligible for. Instead, they’ll most likely let him play out this season and deliver the occasional great game before allowing him to leave as a restricted free agent next year. By that time, Anderson Varejao should be ready to be the team’s starting power forward. Gooden hardly makes any money so it wouldn’t make sense to move him when you know you can get a near double-double from him.
Can we do anything about E. Snow’s huge contract now? Is there any way to dump him? Or does he still fit into this team’s plans?
I’m guessing Snow is a guy the Cavs would like to have as a backup, especially since Jasikevicius can’t play a lick of defense.
I agree that Varejao can be the man in the future, and maybe even next year, but I think they’ll deal Gooden.
They may eventually deal Gooden but I really don’t see any reason to do it now. He’s a capable power forward on an average night and a very good one when he’s actually motivated, and he’s hardly making any money. Why deal him now, especially when you could use another big body? Unless, of course, they can get more frontcourt help in return, a guy who can block some shots and tighten up the D down low. If Ferry can swing a deal like that, then I’m all for it.
Of course, the other option is, the Cavs sign one of the available free-agent power forwards and then deal Gooden for help in another area. If they could somehow figure out a way to get Donyell Marshall, Tyson Chandler or Stromile Swift, Gooden’s as good as gone. Marshall in particular would be an intriguing sign, with his combination of strong outside shooting and shot-blocking abilities.