by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni
With the Trade Deadline exactly one month away, there is no shortage of trade rumors around the L. The latest and greatest involves the Cavs and Hornets; word out of Ohio is that Cleveland is interested in the services of one David West.
The bait the Cavs are using is everyone favorite Bond movie villain, Big Z.
A league source said the Cavs have also made a run at Hornets power forward David West. The Cavs are dangling center Zydrunas Ilgauskas out there for the Hornets, who want to avoid paying the luxury tax at all cost.
The Hornets could buy out Ilgauskas’ contract and waive him. Then he could return to the Cavs in 30 days. Or they could hang onto him and let his $11.5 million deal expire after this season.
If the Cavs got West, perhaps it wouldn’t be a high priority to get Ilgauskas back in a month. Anderson Varejao could play many of the backup minutes behind center Shaquille O’Neal like he does now.
With the Hornets struggling to remain in the Playoff race this season, it wouldn’t exactly be a shocker if they dealt West. However, getting an aging center in return (and then waiving him almost immediately) would likely not sit well with the already frustrated Chris Paul.
As for the Cavs, the addition of David West would be a boon for their front line. And the possibility of re-acquiring Ilgauskas makes the deal that much more tantalizing.
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