Big Z Looking for a Buyout

In a move that should surprise absolutely no one, Zydrunas and his agent are already looking for a way to head back to Cleveland: “As of 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, agent Herb Rudoy said he had not spoken to Wizards General Manager Ernie Grunfeld about Washington’s plans. It is generally assumed that the Wizards will buy out the last year of Ilgauskas’ contract, which will pay him $11.5 million. That would leave Ilgauskas free to sign with any team, including the Cavaliers, although he would have to wait 30 days to re-sign with Cleveland. He would not have to wait to sign with another team, but he must be bought out before March 1 in order to be eligible for the playoffs. ‘I’m going to try to get them to do a buy-out, but I’ve already heard from a few teams — good teams — that are really interested in wanting to talk about Z going to play for them,” Rudoy said. “That doesn’t surprise me. He’s still a very good player. He’s a very interesting player who can still be a very good center in this league. I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen. I think his heart is in Cleveland, that’s for sure. But we’ll see how this plays out. He’s got 30 days to make a decision if it’s Cleveland. If it’s somebody else, he could make it in a week. His whole decision will be based on what’s best for his career. He’d like to win a championship, that’s for sure. But it’s his call, not mine. I’m just going to give him all the options.”‘