Cleveland Cavaliers Blog – Page 111 – NBA Blog

Kings waive Drew Gooden

The Sacramento Kings today requested waivers on forward-center Drew Gooden, according to Kings’ President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie.

Gooden was acquired on February 18, 2009 from the Chicago Bulls as part of a three-team, seven-player trade. He recorded 12 points (5-9 FG, 2-2 FT), 13 rebounds, and two assists in 26 minutes versus Charlotte on February 25th in his lone appearance for Sacramento.

The Kings roster now stands at 14.

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Key LeBron free throws, Cavs beat Hawks 88-87

The AP reports: LeBron James scored 26 points, including the winning free throw with 1.6 seconds left, and the Cleveland Cavaliers won for the seventh time in eight games, 88-87 over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night… Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 21 points… Mo Williams had 20 points for the Cleveland, while Zydrunas Ilgauskas had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. The Hawks had five players in double figures, including Murray and Marvin Williams with 14 apiece.

Thunder waive Joe Smith

Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has waived forward Joe Smith.

Smith was acquired by the Thunder on August 13, 2008 along with guard Desmond Mason in a three-team trade that sent guards Luke Ridnour and Adrian Griffin to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Smith appeared in 36 games for the Thunder this season averaging 6.6 points and 4.5 rebounds in 19.2 minutes per contest.

The Thunder roster now stands at 14 players.

Smith may now choose to sign with a playoff contender in need of help at the power forward and center spots. The Cavaliers have been reported by multiple media outlets as a possibility, especially with Ben Wallace out for an extended period with a major injury.

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How LeBron can make the most money

The Cleveland Plain Dealer (Brian Windhorst) reports: Purely from a financial perspective, LeBron James would probably be best to pick up his option for the 2010-11 season and then extend that contract this summer to 2013 or 2014 to protect himself from the expected salary cap drop and subsequent reduction in max salary. By setting the start of the extension at 2011, James would be in position to reap the rewards of a favorable new CBA for max contracts because his deal would be automatically revised to meet the new max level. But if the cap collapses he’d also be assured of getting a raise on his $17 million salary in 2010-11 and there’s a chance he could actually be above the max contract level after the cap goes down. He would also be wise to build in a series of termination options to continue to apply pressure to the Cavs to surround him with talent while protecting a massive salary for many years. In his position, he will get whatever he asks for as long as it is allowed under the CBA.

Lebron scores 30, Cavs beat Spurs 97-86

The AP reports: Pouring in 30 points and grabbing 14 rebounds before taking it easy after the third quarter, LeBron James and the Cavaliers shook off a terrible start to a four-game road swing with a 97-86 win over the Spurs, who again kept Tim Duncan in street clothes… Tony Parker, who averaged 38 points the last two games, was one of four Spurs with 11 points. Duncan missed his third consecutive game for San Antonio with a right quad injury but is expected to return as soon as Sunday. Delonte West added 17 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 10 for Cleveland, which will resume its four-game road swing Sunday at Atlanta. They’ll do so without Wallace, who is expected to miss four to six weeks after breaking his right fibula in a 93-74 loss to the Rockets on Thursday.

Ben Wallace hurt, Rockets beat Cavs 93-74

The AP reports: LeBron James missed shots, complained to the refs and went an entire game without an assist for the first time in his career. The Houston Rockets, meanwhile, showed they just might be contenders in the Western Conference with a 93-74 win over James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night. Yao Ming scored 28 points and Ron Artest added 15 while harassing James on defense most of the night, leading the Rockets to their six consecutive win and ninth straight at home. “It is a big win,” said Yao, who hit 13 of 15 shots, despite Cleveland’s constant double-teams… James scored 21 points, but went 7-for-21 from the field with three turnovers… To make matters worse, forward Ben Wallace broke his right leg in the second quarter and will miss 4-6 weeks, the team said.

InsideHoops.com notes: For the Rockets, Yao had 28 points and 8 rebounds but 0 assists and 5 turnovers. Von Wafer shot 5-of-10, including 4-of-6 three-pointers, for 19 points off the bench. Ron Artest had 15 but needed 15 shots to get it. Luis Scola shot 5-of-7 for 14 points and 9 rebounds. The Cavs, however, only shot 33.8%. They were a force on the offensive boards thanks to Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who had 11 points and 13 rebounds, but shot badly. Mo Williams shot 8-of-18 for 21 points.

Ben Wallace has broken right leg

Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Ben Wallace broke his right leg in today’s game against the Houston Rockets.

The AP reports: Wallace, guarding Yao Ming much of the game, left in the third quarter. He was playing his fourth game since missing Cleveland’s Feb. 18 win over Toronto with a right arm laceration that required 14 stitches.

TNT is reporting that the Cavs athletic trainer expects Wallace to miss 8-10 weeks.

We’ll update this blog entry when more is known. Probably again later tonight, with an official report from the Cavs sometime Friday.

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Without West, Cavaliers roll past Grizzlies

The AP reports: Playing short-handed is nothing new for the Cleveland Cavaliers. With starting shooting guard Delonte West inactive two days after returning from the right wrist fracture that sidelined him for 16 games, the Cavaliers relied on a team effort to beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 94-79 on Tuesday night. Daniel Gibson scored 19 points and Mo Williams added 18. The Cavaliers never trailed, making for a relatively easy night for LeBron James, the NBA’s second-leading scorer. James scored 15 points in 30 minutes and didn’t play the fourth quarter, thanks to Cleveland’s big lead throughout the game. Rudy Gay and Hakim Warrick scored 13 points apiece for Memphis, which lost its fifth straight.

West 25 in return, Cavs beat Pistons 99-78

The AP reports: It’s not often someone other than LeBron James gets top billing in a victory by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Delonte West provided a rare exception Sunday night. West scored 25 points in his first game since mid-January and led the Cavaliers to a 99-78 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night. West, sidelined since Jan. 15 with a fractured right wrist, was 8-of-11 from the field and made all five of his 3-point attempts… “Was Delonte injured?” joked James, who had 20 points in 31 minutes after scoring 55 Friday night against Milwaukee… Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 16 for Cleveland, while Wally Szczerbiak scored 15. Walter Herrmann scored 13 for Detroit.

Ilgauskas scores 22, Cavaliers beat Raptors 93-76

The AP reports: Even if they don’t make a move before the trade deadline, the Cleveland Cavaliers think they’ve got enough for another run at the NBA Finals. LeBron James had 20 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 22 points in the Cavaliers’ 93-76 victory over Toronto on Wednesday night… Joey Graham had 15 points for Toronto, which has lost five straight to Cleveland. Jose Calderon added 13 points, and Andrea Bargnani has 11. Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks, acquired from Miami on Friday, made their Toronto debuts. Marion started and scored 10 points in 40 minutes, while Banks came off the bench to score four points.