Cavs Take Dion Waiters with the #4 Pick of the 2012 Draft

In a surprising move, the Cavs took a 6′ 4″ scorer at #4 in the draft that never started a game in college.

Dion Waiters

via cavs.com:

With the 4th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft the Cleveland Cavaliers selected 6′ 4″ shooting guard Dion Waiters from Syracuse. Waiters averaged 12.6 points per game on 47.6% shooting from the field during his sophomore season.

Kyrie is Uncle Drew

Rookies Sign

The Rookies

Cavs.com link

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed 2011 NBA Draft picks guard Kyrie Irving and forward Tristan Thompson to contracts, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced today. Per league and team policy, terms of the contract were not announced.

Irving, who was selected number one overall in the 2011 NBA Draft, played in 11 games last season with the Duke Blue Devils, averaging 17.5 points on .529 shooting, including .462 shooting from three-point range, 3.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 27.5 minutes per game. The 6-foot-3 point guard started the first eight games of the season, scoring 16 or more points in five of the eight games, including a 31-point, six-rebound and four-assist effort versus Michigan State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Thompson, who the Cavaliers took with the fourth pick of the 2011 NBA Draft, was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year last season after averaging 13.1 points on .546 shooting, team highs of 7.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 30.9 minutes per game in 36 games. The 6-foot-9, 227-pound forward posted a season-high 26 points on 9-14 shooting (.643), 10 rebounds and three blocks in 37 minutes versus Kansas State and collected a career-best 15 rebounds and 17 points in 38 minutes versus Michigan State.

Parker Re-Signs with Cavs

Cavs.com Link

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed guard/forward Anthony Parker to a contract, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced today. Per league and team policy, terms of the contract were not announced.

“Bringing back Anthony was a high priority for us. We place great value on the leadership, professionalism and veteran presence he brings both on the court and in the locker room,” said General Manager Chris Grant. “His high basketball IQ, ability to shoot with range and play solid perimeter defense made re-signing him extremely important for us.”

Anthony Parker

Last season, the 6-foot-6, 210-pounder averaged 8.3 points on .399 shooting, including .379 from three-point range, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists (the second-highest average in his career) in 29.0 minutes in 72 games (65 starts). He scored in double figures 27 times, including setting season highs in scoring (21) and rebounds (seven) while adding seven assists in 39 minutes versus Minnesota on Dec. 26 and scoring 20 points on 7-9 (.778) shooting, including 4-4 from three-point range, and grabbing seven rebounds in 29 minutes versus Miami on March 29.

Parker originally signed with Cleveland on July 13, 2009. Over the past two seasons with the Cavs, he has started 146 of the 153 games he has played in and posted averages of 7.8 points on .415 shooting, including .398 shooting from three-point range, 2.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 28.6 minutes per game. His 2.48 assists-to-turnovers ratio ranked 14th in the league while his 0.86 steals-to-turnovers ratio ranked 13th among all players over the past two seasons (min. 150 games).

NBA Cancels First Two Weeks of 2011-12 Season

link from ESPN

Big Z Calls it a Day

Z on Draft Day

As reported by the PD’s Tom Reed, Big Z hangs it up.

CLEVELAND: Former Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas told the Plain Dealer today he is retired after 13 NBA seasons and two trips to the NBA Finals.

Ilgauskas, 36, spent nearly his entire career as a Cav and helped the franchise evolve from an also-ran to an Eastern Conference champion in 2007. He spent last season with the Miami Heat and former Cavaliers teammate LeBron James.

The center owns Cavaliers career records for games played (771), rebounds (5,904) and blocks (1,269). He is second in points with 10,616.

He ranks 40th all-time in the NBA with 0.81 shots blocked per game. 

 “Enough is enough,” Ilgauskas said. “My body is beat up and I’m tired physically. There is no age limit, but everyone knows when it’s time.”

Big Z

Ilgauskas is in Cleveland today attending the opening of an urgent care facility that’s owned by his wife. The family has two small kids, who attend school in Miami.

“I want to spend more time with my family,” he said. “I have spent the past 15 years living out of a suitcase. It’s time.”

He appeared in just nine playoff games last season for the Heat, averaging 11.6 minutes and 3.6 points.

Z was a tough dude

It’s believed the player simply known as “Z” will have opportunities to work for the Cavaliers’ organization, but he would not address the topic. His immediate plans are to visit his parents in Lithuania before returning to Miami.

Ilgauskas said he’s been contemplating retirement for the past few seasons. He knew he had played his final game, Ilgauskas said, after the Heat was eliminated by Dallas in the Finals.

He’s most proud of his longevity after early foot injuries and surgeries threatened his career. He is a two-time NBA All-Star, who averaged 13 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots per game.

“I will always think of Cleveland as my home,” Ilgauskas said. “This was my kids’ first home. 

All-Time Leader

“There are so many great memories here and I was lucky to play in one place for so long. To experience so many lows and then so many highs was special. There were the division titles and the conference championship. The early disappointments made the winning that much better.”

One of his favorites moments was capturing the Eastern Conference title at the Q against Detroit. The victory propelled the Cavs into their only NBA Finals appearance in which they were swept by San Antonio.

“I really enjoyed those years, but I would tell the young guys not to take anything for granted. We made those trips to the playoffs and had all those national TV games, but nothing lasts forever. I was there when the arena was empty. I can appreciate the whole experience now.”

–

Much respect goes out to Z from CavsHistory.  He was the longest tenured Cavs ever, had a great sense of humor and was part of both the lowest of lows and the highest of highs in Cavs history.  Lets hope we get to see #11 hanging up in the Q.

Enjoy the below photo gallery of the big guy.

[flickr-gallery mode=”tag” tags=”zydrunasilgauskas” tag_mode=”all”]

Holy Moly its a Long Summer and Lockout. Here’s Some ESPN Stuff to Tide You Over

ESPN Link

Will Cleveland Forgive Lebron?

Omri Back to Maccabi?

Enough buzz around the internet to acknowledge that this might happen… link.  Will Casspi join Jordan Farmer overseas?

Slow Summer… Here’s Some World B. Free Highlights

There’s a lockout going on.  So how about a video of WBF with some pretty rare footage of the 1980-1983 Home and Away uniforms?  (and forgive me, there is some footage of him from when he was on the Sixers, etc…)

Check out how empty the Coliseum was (at 1:11 in)

It is extremely rare to have any photos/videos of the Cavs is their home uni’s from that area. Why?  The team was so bad an so widely unpopular that almost no one was there for the home games.  So most of the archival footage is from road games.

Enjoy watching World work and his legendary “egg in a nest” haircut.

Cavs Sneak in Deal for Casspi and a Pick for J.J. Just Before Lockout

Omri Casspi

Just before the bell rang and the doors locked, GM Grant and the Cavs snuck in a deal for lanky G/F Omri Casspi for a 1st round protected pick in 2012 and our beloved J.J. Hickson

J.J. still has huge upside, and the Cavs weren’t to keen on dealing him, but they needed a 2/3 and some wiggle room financially.  Plus J.J. may be to pricey to sign long term for what he gives.

Now we wait.  The doors are locked and no NBA to be played for a while.  Also, who knows if we’ll get to use that LBJ trade exception.  Get ready for a quiet summer.

(if you guys want something to do to fill the time this summer, try Googling “Omri Casspi Girlfriend”)