Author: JEC (Page 15 of 46)

Mike Monroe from the San Antonio Express-News is reporting that the Cavs have reached an agreement with Lithuanian point guard Sarunas Jasekevicius. Free-agent movement has really slowed down since the initial Redd/Allen/Hughes/Z frenzy as teams are waiting for the salary cap to be set, so if the Cavs indeed have locked up Jasekevicius, it probably won’t be announced for a while. Still, this is potentially great news as Jasekevicius is a lethal shooter and extraordinary passer who would slide right into the starting lineup. His addition, according to Monroe, would make the Cavs one of the top-three teams in the East and, in an earlier column, Monroe called the Cavs the Spurs of the East. Is that an exaggeration? Maybe, but Danny Ferry certainly deserves a ton of credit for what he’s been able to accomplish this summer.

Most of the talk this offseason about the Cavaliers signing a point guard has revolved around Lithuanian star Sarunas Jasikevicius, but the Plain Dealer suggests that free agent Antonio Daniels may be the choice. Daniels isn’t the scorer that Jasikevicius is but he can hit a three, shooting 36% from long distance in 2003 and 40% in 2000 (though just 29% last year), and he’s a much better defender, which may be the reason the Cavs are looking at Daniels as a possibility. And according to Daniels, the interest is mutual:

“I’m interested in Cleveland because I’m from Columbus. Playing close to home would be a great opportunity. Plus LeBron [James] is there and Larry Hughes is there now and Z [Zydrunas Ilgauskas] is still there. That would be a very competitive team in the East.”

Daniels certainly makes sense on several levels, but he would’ve been a better fit had the Cavs signed Michael Redd or Ray Allen instead of Larry Hughes. Hughes’ questionable range, however, makes Jasikevicius more appealing than Daniels. Sure, his defensive liabilities are a concern (envisioning Z and Jasikevicius trying to defend the pick-and-roll scares the crap out of me) but the pressure would be on Mike Brown to mold Jasikevicius into a respectable defender. Plus, with Hughes, a superb defender, at the two, you can live with some shaky defense at the point as long as you’re also getting a three-point threat.

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.