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Right around February’s trade deadline, reports surfaced that the Kings were indeed shopping Bibby and there was much speculation that he could land in Cleveland. 

According to HoopsWorld.com, these talks are possible once again.

Wendell Maxey from HoopsWorld.com says:

“But that was then. And now, according to sources close to the Kings, Bibby is due back on the block and the Kings will revisit trade scenarios likely after next Thursday’s NBA Draft.

Acquiring Bibby would not only address Cleveland’s much needed additional scoring issue but they would gain a pure distributor who can create as well. No offense to the “Hughes at the point project”, the maturation in the playoffs of Gibson, or even the continued defensive prowess of Snow throughout the postseason. Simply put, none of the above can fill it up the way Bibby can at the point.

Bibby averaged 17.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists and was the only King to play in all 82 regular-season games last year.

If Cleveland, and more importantly LeBron James, is serious about returning to the playoffs and NBA Finals next season, there has to be a changing of the guard for the Cavs. There’s nothing like stating the obvious, right?

Atlanta’s Tyronn Lue, Milwaukee’s Earl Boykins, Steve Blake in Denver, and even Steve Francis in New York have also been mentioned as possible solutions in the Cavs backcourt at one time or another. But more than these, Mike Bibby figures to be the perfect fit alongside James regardless if the Cavs are off and running or in their slow-mo half court offense. “

Three Cleveland sports heroes and the world’s top racecar drivers will come together this weekend on the shores of Lake Erie, as officials announced today that Cleveland Cavaliers legend Larry Nance and Cleveland Browns stars Joshua Cribbs and Ryan Tucker will serve as Grand Marshals of the 2007 Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by LaSalle Bank.

The Grand Marshals will participate throughout race weekend in a variety of activities at the Grand Prix, which takes place June 22-24 at Burke Lakefront Airport. All three will play a key role in the Grand Prix’s opening ceremonies before Sunday’s main event, which will also include a concert with Ian Hunter and flyover by two U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornets. At 1:00 p.m., the 750 horsepower Champ Cars will roar to life when Nance, Cribbs and Tucker declare the famous words “Drivers, Start Your Engines!” 
   

Nance is a long-time motorsports enthusiast and owns Larry Nance Racing, a National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Race Team. On display at the Grand Prix will be his ’53 Race Trailer and Pro Stock Chevy Cobalt within the D.A. Motorsports area, which will also host the Advance Auto Parts Grave Digger Monster Truck Simulator. Nance will be greeting fans all weekend, so Grand Prix attendees are encouraged to bring their Cavs memorabilia for Nance to autograph. The D.A. Motorsports area will be part of the Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital Family Fun Zone at the Grand Prix.

Nance is well known as one of the best power forwards in NBA history, and was a three-time NBA All-Star and winner of the NBA’s first Slam Dunk Contest. Nance has remained a fixture in Cleveland and his #22 jersey was retired by the Cavaliers in 1995. The 6’10” forward from Clemson was a NBA All-Star in 1985, 1989, and 1993, and the NBA All-Defensive Team First Team member in 1989, and the Second Team Member in 1992 and 1993. He was also consistently one of the league’s better shot blockers, averaging 2.2 blocks per game during his career. Nance has remained a fixture in Cleveland and his #22 jersey was retired by the Cavaliers in 1995.

King James is a cute nickname held by Cleveland Cavaliers superstar, LeBron James. He’s certainly the king of sponsorship, one of Nike’s crown jewels who without question is the best player on a Cavs team that upset Detroit to reach this year’s NBA Finals. When it comes to true royalty, though, there was only one king in this year’s championship showdown and his initials were TD.
That stands for ‘Top Dog’, ‘Tough Dude’ or Tim Duncan. When the Spurs edged the Cleveland Cavaliers 83-82 to complete a four-game sweep in the NBA Finals, Duncan celebrated his and San Antonio’s fourth title since 1999. Duncan, 31, won the MVP award after wins in ’99, 2003, and ’05 – while Tony Parker received the honour this year. TP was outstanding, but everyone knows that without TD, San Antonio would still be looking for their first moment of glory.
“Obviously, watching Tim Duncan be a common thread through it all is especially satisfying and amazing to me that he’s able to do what he does with that group,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who had the great fortune as general manager to be able to select Duncan with the first overall pick in 1997. Popovich then had the foresight to make himself head coach.
Great players have ran onto the court with Duncan. In ’99, there was David Robinson. In the last two successes, there have been Parker and Manu Ginobili. “Tim is the common denominator,” Popovich said. “He’s got a different cast around him from ‘99, ‘03 and ‘05. He’s welcomed them all, he’s found a way to help them all fit, feel comfortable in their roles, and not many players can do that.”
And from a statistics standpoint, Duncan has been awesome. In this year’s finals, Duncan averaged 18.3 points and 11.5 rebounds. In 890 play-off games in his illustrious career, he has averaged 23.8 points and 12.5 rebounds in about 40 minutes per contest. He has shot better than 50 per cent. And he’s also a class act, never one to show up an opponent.
In fairness to James, who jumped to the professional ranks straight out of high school, he has played just two years in the NBA. His first run in the play-offs was impressive when you consider his statistics. James averaged better than 25 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and one baby. Girlfriend Savannah Brinson gave birth to Bryce Maximus James early on the morning of Game Four.
James could have still been distracted at tip-off, but he didn’t make any excuses for defeat. Instead, he shouldered the blame. “If I don’t play well, our team is not going to have a chance to win,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of things to work on to get better for next year.” We played well,” James said. “We definitely just faced a better team in this series, simple as that.”

Gilbert said there’s been no talk about extending Brown’s contract that still has two years remaining on his deal.

“Danny will make that ultimate decision,” he said. “That’s why he gets paid what he does. I don’t know how you can argue that (Brown) hasn’t done a great job.

“I don’t know too many 37-year-old, second-year coaches who got their team to the Finals. He proved his case that defense is going to keep you in the game and get you the furthest. He’s done a great job. Does he have areas where he can improve? Everyone does.”

Rick Noland | The Chronicle-Telegram
Cavaliers may have to decide how badly they want to keep Pavlovic and Varejao

CLEVELAND — Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry spent some time Friday reflecting on his team’s 4-0 NBA Finals loss to the San Antonio Spurs, but his primary focus is now on the future.
One of Ferry’s first orders of business will be signing restricted free agents Sasha Pavlovic and Anderson Varejao, both of whom are likely to receive offer sheets from other teams that start at least at the mid-level exception, which was $5.2 million this season but could go up to around $5.8 million in 2007-08.
“We want both of them back,” Ferry said. “I would expect interest in both players (around the league). They’re both young, talented players that will be attractive to other teams.”
Pavlovic, a starter, and Varejao, Cleveland’s top sub, will likely have their agents pursue the highest offer sheet they can get from another club, knowing the Cavaliers will match it unless it’s so outlandish it would throw the team’s whole salary structure out of whack.
“Both those guys were big in what we accomplished,” Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. “It would be really nice to have them back.”
Pavlovic, who will receive a $2.8 million qualifying offer from the Cavaliers so they can retain their right to match any offer he receives, earned $1.9 million in 2006-07.
Given that he put up career highs in almost every statistical category in his fourth pro season, including scoring average (9.0), and is still just 23 years old, the Montenegro native will likely draw a lot of interest on the free-agent market.
At 6-foot-7 and 239 pounds, Pavlovic can shoot and get to the hole at the offensive end, and his defense improved greatly this season in Brown’s system. Cleveland’s starting shooting guard still needs to improve his consistency and work on maintaining his aggressiveness, but he’s definitely a player the Cavaliers would like to keep.
“I like being in Cleveland,” said Pavlovic, who is represented by Mark Cornstein. “I’m hoping I’m going to be back here, but it’s not up to me. We’ll see what happens.
“You never know what’s going to happen. This is a business.”
At 6-10 and 240 pounds, Varejao is the kind of active, athletic big man a lot of teams would love to have, which is why he’s about to get a monster raise from the $945,000 he earned in 2006-07, his third NBA season.
His offensive game is still a work in progress and his mental focus on the defensive end is often lacking, but his hustle and ability to annoy opponents will make him attractive on the free-agent market, especially since the Brazil native is just 24.
“I can take care of my family (with a new contract),” said Varejao, who is represented by Dan Fegan. “That’s the great thing.
“I love the city (of Cleveland). I love the fans. When I first came here, I could barely speak any English, but everybody made me feel at home. I would love to come back.”
The Cavaliers, who already have power forward Drew Gooden under contract for $13.5 million over the next two seasons, are probably hoping they can retain Varejao for close to the mid-level, but they’ll have to make a tough decision if another team swoops in and offers him a five-year deal that starts at $7 million or $8 million, which is entirely possible.
There’s the possibility they could match the offer and work a sign-and-trade deal, and there’s also the possibility they could use Gooden, who will earn a rather mundane $6.4 million next season — at least by NBA standards — as trade bait in their ongoing quest to find a quality starting point guard.
If the latter happens, Varejao would likely end up starting at power forward, but he’s made no serious noise about wanting that role next season.
“The most important thing to me is to be important, to be a big part of the team,” Varejao said. “I would like to be a starter, of course, but the most important thing is to be important.”
Teams are allowed to start talking contract with free agents on July 1. Deals can be agreed upon any time after that, but can’t be signed until July 11.
The Cavaliers, whose team payroll is already $64.36 million for next season without Pavlovic and Varejao figured in, are certain to be in the luxury tax, which requires teams to pay $1 for every $1 they are over the threshold. The luxury tax was set at $65.42 million this season, but will likely go up at least a couple million dollars.
With the contracts of Scot Pollard and Dwayne Jones expiring and David Wesley’s option for next season unlikely to be picked up, it’s probable the Cavaliers will also go out and sign a couple other free agents with their mid-level and bi-annual exceptions. The latter will be around $1.83 million.
That would put them even further into the tax, but owner Dan Gilbert has said he’s willing to pay it if it means putting an improved team on the floor.
“Dan’s idea is money follows, (it doesn’t lead), so make good decisions and things will work out from there,” Ferry said. “We have to make good decisions for ourselves.”
The Cavaliers don’t have a pick in either round of the June 28 NBA Draft, but could purchase a selection from another team for as much as $3 million. Ferry said he would “definitely” explore that option, but added $3 million by itself probably wouldn’t be enough to get the Cavaliers in the top half of the first round.
Though Brown said he was happy with the players on his roster, Cleveland could also make some type of trade as it continues to pursue the first championship in franchise history.
“We may have to make some changes,” Brown said. “We may have to do something to help us take that next step.”

 

 George M. Thomas Akron Beacon Journal Sportswriter brings us up to speed: 

With the Cleveland Cavaliers’ season finished, the behind-the-scenes work begins to build on what the team accomplished in the 2006-07 season.

On the court, there’s only one way to top this year: Win it all.

The Cavs face the prospect of losing two important ingredients from this year’s magical brew: forward Anderson Varejao and guard Sasha Pavlovic, who become restricted free agents this summer.

There’s little doubt what General Manager Danny Ferry and coach Mike Brown want to see happen with those players.

“We want both of them back,” Ferry said in an interview with area media. “We’ll go through the process (negotiations can begin July 1), whatever that is with their agents, to see that happen.”

It’s not difficult to see why Ferry would want them to return. Pavlovic doubled his scoring average to 9.0 and showed signs of consistency throughout the season. Varejao’s a scrappy player who willingly does the dirty work, can be a ferocious rebounder off the bench and often gives the team a much-needed spark with his play. More importantly, they’re both younger than 25, so there is a tremendous upside for the two.

On Friday, both players said they’d love to return to the Cavaliers.

“I love the city. I love the fans and everything. When I first got here, I didn’t speak any English,” Varejao said. “It was a different country for me, and they helped me. So I’m pretty comfortable in Cleveland. I love being here. I would love to come back.”

Pavlovic would like to return as well, but he looks at the situation with a touch of pragmatism.

“I would love to be here. You never know what’s going to happen,” he said. “It’s a business. It’s nothing on me. I hope I’m going to get back here as a free agent.”

Indeed, obstacles could arise. It’s distinctly possible the Cavaliers will be in a luxury tax situation with respect to payroll when the 2007-08 season tips off this fall. How far over the salary cap they wish to extend themselves — and thus pay the league’s luxury tax — could determine several moves.

“I don’t know anything about the cap or what they may be offering or anything like that,” Brown said, “but it would be really nice to have them both back.”

Draft news

The Cavaliers have no picks in this month’s NBA Draft. Ferry didn’t rule out that changing.

“It’s not a guarantee. It will depend on what pick you could get and what will be available at the time,” he said.

One glaring hole for the Cavs: point guard. Ferry said that position will be looked at, along with the team’s entire roster.

James and Team USA

Team leader LeBron James faced two big decisions when the postseason began: whether to play if his girlfriend went into labor with their second child, and what to do regarding his slot on Team USA, which is coached by Duke University’s Mike Krzyzewski and will compete in the FIBA Americas Championship in Las Vegas this summer.

Bryce Maximus James entered the world early Thursday.

No one has a clue as to what James — who wasn’t available for comment Friday — is doing about playing basketball this summer. That includes Brown and Ferry.

“We talk to LeBron about everything, but ultimately that’s something he has to decide with Coach K and Jerry Colangelo in their discussions,” Ferry said. “But if he decides to play with USA Basketball and he’s going to play with USA Basketball, we clearly support that.”

Brown said he’d have little problem with his superstar representing his country.

“LeBron is a big boy, and he understands what he can and cannot do, so he makes the decision,” Brown said. “If he asks my opinion, I’ll give it to him.”

New digs

When the 2007-08 season begins, the Cavaliers will practice at Cleveland Clinic Courts, their new facility in Independence. Brown eagerly awaits that day, primarily because the 50,000-square-foot building will be state-of-the-art with respect to training and the use of video technology.

What does Brown like most about it? It’s another tool to attract potential free agents, he said.