Cavaliers re-sign Graham, waive Nailon

The Cavaliers signed guard Stephen Graham for the rest of the season and waived forward Lee Nailon on Friday.
Graham has averaged 3 points and 1.7 rebounds in six games with Cleveland after being signed to a pair of 10-day contracts on Feb. 6 and 20. He was released Thursday when the Cavaliers acquired Nailon in a trade with Philadelphia and obtained Flip Murray from Seattle for Mike Wilks in an exchange of guards.

Graham also played six games for Houston and three for Chicago this season and is averaging 2.7 points and 1.3 rebounds in 15 games overall.

Gilbert saves the 76ers!

“Gilbert’s willingness to take on contracts also played into the Nailon deal.” Brian Windhorst from the ABJ reported. “The trade was made to save the 76ers luxury-tax money. The Cavs will take on the rest of Nailon’s $800,000 contract and for their trouble get Philadelphia’s 2006 second-round draft pick.
The Cavs gave the 76ers their 2006 second-round draft pick in the deal but it is highly conditional, and there’s a good chance they won’t give it up. Only if the Cavs’ pick is in the last five spots in the second round will they have to give it up.

Nailon, who played 22 games with the Cavs in 2004, was arrested a month ago and charged with simple assault and harassment after an incident with his wife. He has not been with the Sixers since the arrest.
The Sixers will continue to pay his salary but not be on the hook for it when the luxury-tax”

Cavaliers Acquire Ronald Murray and Get Lee Nailon Back

The Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired guard Ronald “Flip” Murray from the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for guard Mike Wilks and cash considerations, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry announced today.

In 48 games (two starts) this season, Murray is averaging 9.9 points and 2.5 assists in 22.6 minutes per game. Murray (6-3, 197 pounds) has scored in double figures in 25 games this season and has scored over 15 points nine times. He scored a season-high 29 points on Dec. 26 versus Boston.

“Flip is a high energy player and a proven scorer on offense,” Ferry said. “We expect him to be a creative contributor.”
In 193 career games, Murray is averaging 9.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 21.0 minutes per game. He was the 42nd overall pick (13th pick of the second round) in the 2002 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Cavaliers have sent their second-round draft pick in this year’s NBA Draft to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for the 76ers second-round draft pick this season. Forward Lee Nailon was also included in the deal. The Cavaliers have also waived guard/forward Stephen Graham who was signed to a second 10-day contract on Feb. 20.

Prospects

Ten NBA scouts, including Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry, were at Smith Center. Many were there to get a firsthand look at La Salle’s Steve Smith. The Colonials also have a pair of NBA prospects in Pops Mensah-Bonsu and Mike Hall. Smith, Mensah-Bonsu and Hall each entered the NBA Draft after last season before returning to school. … GW’s Montrell McDonald missed a second game as part of his indefinite suspension for breaking team rules. The freshman guard had been one of the Colonials’ top reserves.

James’ game is missing one ingredient: defense

Rob Oller of the Columbus Dispatch explains, of course LeBron James was named MVP of Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game. The league expects and rewards lack of defense during the annual East meets West Whoopdeedoo.

And James did not disappoint. Lukewarm defense often is his specialty.

Let’s get one thing straight: King James is almost perfect. In only his third season, he is 99 percent of everything the Cleveland Cavaliers hoped for when they used the No. 1 pick of the 2003 draft on the high-school senior from Akron. The dynamic 21-year-old scores, soars and elicits roars as he alternates between biting his fingernails and blowing past defenders.

But while James is nearly unstoppable offensively, defensively he is anything but. Stopping his man cold is not often a hot topic around Quicken Loans Arena, where James’ 26 points helped the Cavaliers make the pesky Orlando Magic finally disappear last night, 105-92.

Even in what was a sturdy effort on the defense end _ he allowed 15 points while guarding three different players — it was obvious that James does not come by defense naturally. Writers who regularly follow the team describe his defense as average at best.

Maybe it’s nit-picking to point out James’ one weak spot when the rest of his game is above reproach. I like to think the criticism is more a case of wanting to see one of today’s great players become one of the game’s greatest ever players — something close to Michael Jordan — instead of the reincarnation of Dominique Wilkins, an incredible offensive talent who never quite got over the defensive hump.

At the moment, James’ game resembles Russian roulette in reverse; a bullet in every chamber but one. It’s only a matter of time before his defense comes up empty at the worst possible time.

That’s not to say he is a terrible defender. He limits his man to 13 points a game while averaging 31.2 on offense, entering last night the third highest in the league behind Kobe Bryant (35.0) and Allen Iverson (33.2). It’s just that it defeats the purpose to score 43 points and allow 50, as James did last week in allowing Paul Pierce to hang half a hundred on the Cavs. Cleveland won that game in double overtime, but wasn’t so lucky against Golden State four days earlier. James tossed in 33 points but allowed Jason Richardson to score 31 in a 99-91 loss.

Allowing big numbers occasionally will happen. Even Jordan, early in his career, wasn’t always the lockdown defender he later became. Before being selected to the first of his leaguerecord nine NBA All-Defensive teams in 1988, Jordan once scored 52 points against Portland while allowing Clyde Drexler to get 42. But Jordan always played defense well enough to get noticed. James, meanwhile, too often plays it poorly enough to get noticed.

You say it’s unfair to compare Jordan and James? OK, how about James and Bryant? The NBA coaches have selected the Los Angeles Lakers guard to the All-Defensive team five times, three as a first-teamer. James has yet to get a sniff of that team.

“Playing great defense is a mindset,” said Scott Williams, TV analyst for the Cavs and who played with both Jordan and James. “You have to look forward to that one-on-one challenge.”

Does James relish it? He says he does, so it’s only fair to give him the benefit of the doubt. We’ll come to his defense this time. Ultimately, though, the defense is up to him.

Cavaliers sign Stephen Graham to a second 10-day contract

In an expected move, the Cavs signed rookie swingman Stephen Graham to a second 10-day contract on Monday. In four games with the Cavs, Graham is averaging 3.5 points and 2.3 rebounds in 13.5 minutes.

The Cavs will have six more games to look at him to decide whether to sign him for the rest of the season or let him go.

“I’m just going to pick up where I left off,”Graham said. “I’m trying to show the coaches what a good player I am.”

LeBron becomes the youngest All-Star MVP

James scored 29 points in leading the Eastern Conference to a 122-120 comeback victory. It earned him the game’s Most Valuable Player Award. The 21-year-old James is the youngest ever to win it, edging Oscar Robertson, who was 22 when he won it in 1961.

“The MVP was never in my mind, just winning the ballgame was,” James said. “I give thanks to the other 12 guys that were able to help me.”

James added six rebounds, two assists and two steals. He showed off his entire game in the third quarter, when the West seemed to be in control after building a 21-point lead.

Last season, James was in position to challenge for the MVP Award with 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists, but he yielded down the stretch to the eventual winner, Allen Iverson, and Dwyane Wade. This time, he grabbed it by the throat.

Wade, who had 20 points, did make the big play in this one, a putback with 16 seconds left to give the East the lead for good. But James owned the night and finished it by defending a Tracy McGrady jumper that could’ve tied it in the final 10 seconds.

It was the most points ever scored by a Cavalier in an All-Star Game, beating the old standard set by Mark Price’s 20 points in 1994.

“Watching him is unbelievable,” Billups said. “His team’s one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, he gets the MVP of this game with all these great players. It’s unbelievable. The kid is a freak of nature.”

Say What?

Here’s Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James …
) On how many Valentine’s Day marriage proposals each has received over the years:
Garnett: “I got quite a few. Both male and female. Everybody likes something.”
James: “Thousands. … I’ve never received one from a man.”
) On which celebrity each would like to trade places with for a day:
Garnett: “It wouldn’t be no celebrity, I’ll tell you that. It’s kind of good to go someplace and enjoy the place you’re at.”
James: “I’m not sure. I’m comfortable with being LeBron James right now.”
) On whose performance was better — Garnett’s in adidas commercials or James’ in Nike ads:
Garnett: “I didn’t have a chance to dance. He got to dance in his. I didn’t have a chance to show off my dancing skills. I’m pretty nice when it comes to the moves.”
James: “Of course, Nike. He did a great job, though. I think both of them came out pretty great.”