I’m Getting Worried About the Z Situation

New info has come out that (via ESPN) Z’s agent said Z love the city of Cleveland and the fans… but was not at all please being “used as a pawn in the Jamison trade”.  link

Also, via Windy’s podcast, Z is feeling shakey about re-joining the team that has a full roster.  In other-words, he would feel guilty forcing the Cavs to cut one of the guys.

Z Just Prior to Being the First Person to Ever "Dunk" a Bowling Ball

Its Official, LeBron to Switch to Numbers. 23 is Dead, Long Live #6!

Per Windy at Cleveland.com/Plain Dealer

LeBron James fans, get ready to make some room in your closet for No. 6 jerseys.

James told The Plain Dealer on Monday that he’s filed the paperwork with the NBA office to switch his jersey number from No. 23 to No. 6 next season. He had to make the decision this week, the deadline to make the request to the NBA is Wednesday.

James first brought up the idea in November, saying he wanted to give up No. 23 out of respect to his hero, Michael Jordan. At that time he said he was “50/50″ on switching to No. 6, his Olympic number and the day of the month his first son was born. That now seems to be 100 percent.

“I’ve done it,” James said. “I already sent it in. I’m going to be No. 6.”

The NBA does not have to fulfill the request, players who don’t change teams have to apply to change their number in March before the previous season. However, the wave of new jersey sales the switch promises to trigger would likely be too enticing for the league to turn down.

In 2006, Kobe Bryant requested his number to be changed from No. 8 to No. 24. The NBA approved the move and Bryant’s jerseys quickly shot to No. 1 in sales across the world. James has been in the top three in jersey sales in the U.S., China and Europe in recent years but hasn’t enjoyed the top spot for several years.

Player do not directly benefit from merchandise sales, however. It goes into a league-wide pool that is distributed to teams and then players based on seniority.

Jordan, of course, also pulled such a move. He switched to No. 45 for part of a season when he came out of retirement for the first time with the Chicago Bulls.

Other than playing for Team USA, the last time James did not wear No. 23 was during his freshman year of high school when he wore No. 32 because a senior was wearing 23.

Cavs Sign Cleveland State’s Cedric Jackson

Here’s the story (I’ll add him when he plays)

Via Brian Windhorst at the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

CLEVELAND — For the first time since establishing it as their affiliate, the Cavaliers are going to pluck a player from the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League.

According to a source, the team will sign Cleveland State product Cedric Jackson to a 10-day contract on Saturday.

Jackson, a 6-3 rookie guard, will give the Cavs instant point guard help following injuries to Mo Williams and Delonte West. Jackson is averaging 14.7 points and 7.6 assists with the  BayHawks. He’s coming off a game in which he scored 34 points.

Erie runs some of the same offensive plays and defenses that the Cavs run, part of the partnership

Cedric Jackson

established between the teams. BayHawks coach John Treloar works with the Cavs coaches in training camp.

The Cavs lost Williams to a shoulder sprain on Tuesday then Thursday West fractured the ring finger on his left hand. Tests at the Cleveland Clinic on Friday showed West’s injury wasn’t serious but he’s expected to miss a couple games. Getting Jackson will give the Cavs an extra ball handler plus a player who knows the offense and is regarded as a solid defensive player.

Jackson helped the Vikings to a Horizon League Tournament title last year and an upset of Wake Forest in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Windorst on the Radio

Windhorst joined Micheal Reghi on 850 yesterday and dropped some science.

Check it here: http://www.espncleveland.com/audiovault/michael_reghi.php

Some old news regarding Leon Powe, but interesting analysis on Lebron, the Dwade and Miami standoff,   salary cap complexities and a thought provoking nugget at the end.

Cavs Still Going After Powe, Injury or Not?

via the grand Windhorst at cleveland.com

“CLEVELAND, Ohio — Thinking outside the box and taking a managed risk, the Cavaliers are close to scoring what could be a key big-man addition to their roster.

Leon Powe On Da Tracks

According to a source, the Cavs have the framework of a contract completed with free agent forward Leon Powe. It could become official as early as Tuesday, when Powe is expected to come to Cleveland to meet with team doctors.

Powe is in the middle of recovering from a torn ACL in his left knee and may not be able to return until the All-Star Break. But the Cavs feel like he’s worth the wait.

The sides have been talking for weeks and were able to agree on a two-year contract, which will protect both sides. Powe will get a chance to rehab with a deal and the Cavs will be protected if he recovers as they apparently believe he will.

The 6-8 three-year veteran averaged 7.7 points and 4.9 rebounds for the Celtics last season. He proved valuable when Kevin Garnett went down with injury and played an important role until he suffered the injury during the playoffs.

The Celtics could have kept Powe’s rights, but they declined to make him a qualifying offer in June because he’s had several injuries to the left ACL. They had hoped to be able to re-sign him when he was healthy, but the Cavs were able to put together a more attractive offer.”

Link here

Miami Doesn't Match, Cavs Get Jamario Moon

Pretty pumped about this one.  Moon is an athletic 29 yr old swing man that is the “long” that Cavs were talking about getting.  In the Miami trade with Toronto last year, Moon was the best piece and he played well with Wade and Co.  Looking forward to see how he fits into the Cavs plans.

Jamario Moon

Here’s the skinny from Cavs.com:

“CLEVELAND, OH – July 24th, 2009 - The Cleveland Cavaliers have entered into a Player Contract with restricted free agent forward Jamario Moon. The Cavaliers signed Moon to a contract Offer Sheet on Friday, July 17th; with his former team, the Miami Heat, having seven days to match the Offer Sheet and retain him. The Cavaliers received notice from the Heat that they declined to match, deeming Moon a Cavalier. Per team and league policy, terms of the agreement were not released.

“Jamario is going to bring versatility and a high level of athleticism to our team,” said Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry. “He should be a very good fit to our current roster. We are very happy to have him with us.”Moon played in 80 games (60 starts) this past season for the Toronto Raptors and the Miami Heat. He averaged 7.2 points on .468 shooting, 4.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.1 steals in 25.8 minutes per game. The 6-foot-8 forward scored in double figures on 25 occasions. He led the NBA in steals-to-turnovers ratio (2.0) during the 2008-09 season. In two seasons in the NBA, Moon has career averages of 7.8 points on .478 shooting, 5.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks in 26.8 minutes per game.”

The Mighy Windhost’s Twitter had this to say: “…Jamario Moon now a Cav. Guarantee is two years, $6 million“

Kid Congo Re-Signs with Spanish Club?

From the desk of Windhorst:

A Spanish Web site reported Wednesday that Cavaliers’ first-round draft pick Christian Eyenga has signed a new contract with DKV Joventut in Spain.

Sportando.net, which tracks basketball in Europe, said the 6-5 shooting guard signed a three-year contract less than a week after completing summer league with the Cavs.

Christian Eyenga

The Plain Dealer was unable to independenly confirm the report Wednesday night. In an interview last week, Eyenga declined to discuss his contract situation. The Cavs will maintain his rights but it is still unclear whether the contract has opt-out clauses or a significant buyout to come to the NBA.

After drafting him with the 30th overall pick in the first round on June 25, the Cavs seemed content to let Eyenga develop over in Europe for at least a year. After seeing him perform in the Vegas Summer League, where he averaged 8.8 points and shot 47 percent, a source said the Cavs wanted to sign him to his slotted two-year, $2 million contract so he could work on his game spliting time between Cleveland and Erie, Pa., in the NBA Development League.

Eyenga, 20, was a free agent in Europe after spending most of last year with Prat Joventut, the Spanish franchise’s junior team. NBA teams are allowed to contribute up tp $500,000 for a buyout but sometimes players sign deals with massive buyouts in exchange for more salary. As a result, numerous former picks are stuck in Europe because they can’t afford to pay their buyouts with the slotted salaries NBA teams can pay.

This is a major issue for another DKV Joventut player, Minnesota Timberwolves’ first-round pick Ricky Rubio. His contract with Joventut contains a buyout around $6 million and it is proving to be a significant stumbling block for him to get to the NBA. Wednesday, Rubio announced he was leaving Joventut but may not be coming to the NBA.

Because Eyenga knew he was a first-round pick when before entering the deal — unlike Rubio, who signed with the franchise as a young teen — he may have been able to insert a more-favorable buyout clause if the report is accurate.

Cleveland.com link here

I thought this was the dumbest draft pick ever, then I was getting all excited about him because he was raising eyebrows in the summer league… now I don’t know how to feel.

Shaq to Cavs?

Every news outlet has this as a done deal for Sasha, Ben and half a mil.

I will add the big guy to the site once cavs.com makes it official. But if Windhorst reports it, its probably true.

I am going to be bummed seeing Z as a bench guy, even though I knew it would happen some day