By BRIAN DULIK Staff Writer INDEPENDENCE — Cavaliers forward LeBron James will be in China for the Summer Olympics when they begin on Aug. 8. Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas hopes to join him there. Ilgauskas has been invited to play for the Lithuanian Olympic team, but cannot suit up unless Cleveland’s management and the NBA both give him permission. “It’s in discussions between the NBA and the (Lithuanian Basketball) Federation, but I should know in the next month or so,” Ilgauskas said Monday. “I want to go, but there is a lot of paperwork involved and all sides need to come to an agreement on some things.” The biggest issue is securing an insurance policy that would protect the Cavaliers in the event their two-time All-Star pivot is injured in Beijing. With two years and $22.3 million left on Ilgauskas’ contract — not to mention his long history of foot problems — it’s a legitimate concern. Further muddying the water is Ilgauskas’ close friendship with former teammate and current Cleveland general manager Danny Ferry. The 7-foot-2 warrior took a pay cut to remain with the Cavaliers two years ago, and hopes the franchise returns the favor now. “I’ve put off talking to ‘Z’ about it purposely,” Ferry admitted. “Now that the season is over, we’ll sit down and go through the situation.” Ilgauskas has never played in the Olympics and last took the court for his homeland as an amateur in 1994. Considering that he turns 33 on June 5, time is running out for him to do so. If the Cavaliers give Ilgauskas permission to go to China, he likely would play against James and the United States National Team in the later rounds of the tournament. Both nations are strong medal contenders. But as Ferry noted, first things must come first. “I don’t want to really talk about it until I have the opportunity to talk to ‘Z’,” he said. “It’s not really fair to anybody to do it any other way, so I want to talk to him first and see where it goes from there.”
o o o FIT FOR A KING: James raised his career playoff scoring average to 27.5 points, allowing him to remain in fifth place on the all-time NBA leader board. The players ahead of him are Michael Jordan (33.4), Allen Iverson (29.7), Jerry West (29.1) and Tracy McGrady (28.5). The lone other active competitor in the top 11 is Vince Carter (25.9) at No. 9. “He’s our leader and he sets the bar high,” Cleveland coach Mike Brown said of his superstar. … James committed 37 turnovers in the Eastern Conference semifinals, tying the league record for a playoff series set by Philadelphia’s Charles Barkley against Milwaukee in 1986. Overall, he averaged 28.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.6 assists this postseason, joining Oscar Robertson as the only NBA players to post those numbers. “The Big O” turned the trick in 1962, 1963 and 1964. … James’ 45 points in Game 7 against Boston matched his team record for a regulation game. He also equaled his franchise mark with 19 free throw attempts.
o o o ON GUARD: The Cavaliers must extend minimum qualifying offers to restricted free agents Delonte West and Daniel “Boobie” Gibson by June 30 in order to retain their right of first refusal. The young guards may negotiate with any team beginning July 1, but Cleveland can match any offer sheet they sign. “It’s a good fit for me on this team,” said West, who averaged 10.8 points and 4.2 assists in the playoffs. “With LeBron here, a point guard doesn’t have to dominate the basketball to be effective. I do a lot of things well, and in this system all those things can flourish.” Though Gibson has been plagued by injuries, including a separated shoulder that knocked him out of the Celtics series, he remains a part of the Cavaliers’ long-term plans. “I like Daniel a lot,” Ferry said. “We’ve been very good for each other the last couple years.”
o o o BY THE NUMBERS: In addition to Ilgauskas breaking the Cavaliers record for career playoff games, two of his teammates moved into the franchise’s top five. Ilgauskas now has 50 games played, followed by Mark Price (47), James (46), Anderson Varejao (46) and John “Hot Rod” Williams (45). … Cleveland’s 26 wins over the last three postseasons sits third in the league behind San Antonio and Detroit. … The Cavaliers’ playoff journey matched their fourth-longest run. They reached the NBA Finals in 2007, the Eastern Conference finals in 1976 and 1992, and the seventh game of the East semifinals in 2006 and 2008. … Cleveland outscored Boston in their seven-game series 596-588. … The Celtics and Cavaliers tied the NBA record for the fewest double-figure scorers in a playoff contest with four in Game 6. The mark was previously set four times.
o o o LOOKING AHEAD: Power forward Joe Smith has one year left on his contract and plans on playing it out in Cleveland. “I think we’re right there where we need to be as far as talent,” said Smith, who was acquired from Chicago in mid-February. “I like this team.” Smith had never played on a squad that won a playoff series until the Cavaliers eliminated Washington in the first round. He believes they would have taken another step if the team had more time to jell. “I think the outcome may have been a little different,” Smith said. “Take nothing away from Boston, but we had our opportunities on their floor to steal one of those road wins. We have to use that as a motivating factor.”
o o o TIP-INS: Brown is 26-20 in the postseason. His .565 winning percentage ranks fifth among current coaches behind the Lakers’ Phil Jackson, San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich, New Orleans’ Byron Scott and Orlando’s Stan Van Gundy. … Ferry began his season-ending remarks by sternly saying, “This is not a fun day.” He later referred to the front office’s internal review as going on “a deep dive.” … Offensively challenged center Ben Wallace was the only Cleveland player to make more than half of his playoff field goal attempts. He was 17-of-33 (.515). … Wally Szczerbiak made 26-of-28 free throws (.929), leaping into second place in team postseason history behind Price (.944).
o o o QUOTE OF THE DAY: “From the start of the preseason with the damn China trip, November was as tough a month as we’ve had since I’ve been here. With being on the West Coast for a long time and the holdouts and injuries, I think we handled it pretty well.” — Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
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