Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ Return to Cavs Imminent

As the Akron Beacon Journal reports, Big Z and Cleveland are now just going through the final negotiation steps before he dons a Cavs uniform again: “Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas and the Cavaliers were close to a deal on Monday night for Ilgauskas to return to the team. Herb Rudoy, Ilgauskas’ agent, said he expected things to go very smoothly and just had to iron out a couple of minor things with Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry. The Cavs have two contract options for signing the team’s all-time leading rebounder — the veteran’s minimum, worth about $1.3 million, and the biannual exception, worth $1.99 million. Ilgauskas is expected to sign for the latter at a pro-rated amount for the rest of the season. He could have asked for a multiyear deal that would cover next season. After talking about potential retirement near the beginning of the season, Ilgauskas reversed course and stated that he would welcome the chance to come back for at least one more season, but decided against asking for that with this deal. ‘He wants to see what happens this year,’ Rudoy said. Ilgauskas’ return complicates the Cavs’ roster situation, leaving them to ponder who to release to reach the league maximum of 15 players.”