OAKLAND, Calif. — The steps have been taken for Zydrunas Ilgauskas to sign with a new team. The question is whether it will be a new team.
On Thursday, the Wizards finalized the Ilgauskas buyout and waived the 7-foot-3 veteran center, who is now deciding between a return to the Cavaliers — the team that traded him to Washington last week — or another contender, possibly the Nuggets, who are making a strong push to bolster their bigs with “Big Z.”
The center’s agent, Herb Rudoy, said the process could take up to a week. Ilgauskas can sign with any team right now but must wait 30 days to rejoin the Cavaliers.
“He knows I would love for him to be back here,” Cleveland forward LeBron James told reporters Thursday. “I want him to be back here, especially while we’re contending for a title. He’s one of the main reasons why I want to win a title for this team.”
Atlanta, Dallas and Utah are other title contenders in contention for Ilgauskas. As for Denver, “We’ve been hearing about the Nuggets getting more size, but our big men, we’re happy with them,” said assistant coach Adrian Dantley, who filled in for George Karl on Thursday. “The only thing we’re concerned about is if one of our bigs has a major injury. You worry about things like that.”
Nene, Kenyon Martin and Chris Andersen have all battled injuries this season, but all three were active in Thursday’s game at Golden State.
Approaching history.
Warriors coach Don Nelson is just eight wins from becoming the NBA’s all-time winningest coach. He would surpass Lenny Wilkens (1,332 wins). Nelson has been a coach for 31 seasons. However, with the pace of victories the Warriors have this season, it’s debatable whether he would break the record this season or next.
