ZYDRUNAS ILGAUSKAS TO RE-SIGN WITH CAVS THIS WEEK

When Cleveland Cavaliers backup center Zydrunas Ilgauskas was traded to the Washington Wizards in mid February, most observers felt that he’d wind up back with his old club once the NBA mandated 30 day period had elapsed.  The Cavs received talented forward Antawn Jamison in return, though the Wizards quickly worked out a buyout deal with Ilgauskas.  Despite overtures from several NBA teams, Ilgauskas has remained unsigned but that should change within the next day or so—if not sooner—and he’ll be back in Cleveland as soon as Tuesday.

Ilgauskas had played in Cleveland for his entire 12 year NBA career before a deadline trade that sent him to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Antawn Jamison.  There was never really any intention of him actually playing in Washington, and after reporting to his new team he returned to Cleveland and began to negotiate his buyout.  The Wizards were happy to facilitate this wanting to free up salary cap space.  As the Cavs’ all time leader in games played and rebounds, he’s got a long history with the team and it was almost inevitable that he’d return.

As a well respected and experienced center, Ilgauskas had no shortage of options and was been approached by a number of teams looking to shore up their interior defense for the NBA playoffs including Atlanta and Dallas.  According to his agent, Herb Rudoy, he took time to weigh his options and was initially ambivalent about a return to the Cavs.  Ilgauskas wasn’t happy about how the trade went down and how he became a bargaining chip after a long tenure with the team.  These hard feelings have been smoothed over thanks to some effort by, among others, LeBron James who is a close friend of Ilgauskas. When asked about the possibility of Ilgauskas’ return, LeBron was enthusiastic:

"He's a good friend of mine and a great teammate. If that's the case of him coming back ... I'm excited."

Ilgauskas has become an even more important piece in the Cavs playoff puzzle with Shaquille O’Neal currently out of action with a thumb injury.  As a result, the Cavs have played much of the past six weeks without a true center.  James spoke about his team stepping up to overcome that adversity:

"Guys have stepped up. To not have a true center, guys have played above their height and weight and everyone has gotten the job done."

The only people who aren’t really excited about Ilgauskas’ return are bench players Danny Green and Darnell Jackson.  The Cavs would have to make a roster space available to re-sign Ilgauskas and Green and Jackson are the most likely to get the axe.