Zydrunas Ilgauskas prepares Return to Cavaliers

Last month, the Cleveland Cavaliers dealt Zydrunas Ilgauskas in an effort to bring Antawn Jamison to the squad. Going into the playoffs, the Cavs need a good three-point shooter to match up with the shooters of the Orlando Magic. Ilgauskas had been the longest-tenured player on the team, but the trade ended that streak. Since LeBron James arrived in Cleveland, he was the only player that was there every season since. When he was traded, it was assumed that he would find his way back to Cleveland before playoff time.

Three weeks have passed since Ilgauskas was traded to the Washington Wizards. He never showed up to any of the practices and it did not take long for his contract to be bought out. This benefits Cleveland because they can now offer him less money to sign on for the rest of the season. While the Cavs are not going to be major players in the upcoming free agency period, they can offer a bit more money to their star, LeBron James. There are rumors of him leaving the team after this season.

The lure of playing alongside LeBron James is enough for the man called Big Z. Before James joined the franchise, he had played through multiple losing seasons with the Cavaliers. He was also forced to wear those horrible jerseys of the 1990s that matched the Cavs' consistent losing. In 1999, Zydrunas Ilgauskas had played in three playoff games and it would be seven years before he returned. Since that return, he has been in the playoffs every year. In 2007, he got as far as the NBA Finals with LeBron James. He knew that he would be trade bait, so being traded to the bottom-feeding Wizards did not come as much of a surprise. But, the games are over and Big Z wants to return to his team.