Danny Ferry thinks so....
Terry PlutoI recently had a long talk with Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry about Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
Ferry quickly said: ``There are only two untouchables on the Cavs: LeBron James and Dan Gilbert.''
The rest can go, and Ferry put himself in that category.
But he stressed that while Ilgauskas did not play well in the postseason, he remains a valuable part of the team. You can't just say, "Dump Z,'' and not have a viable alternative at center.
Even in Detroit, there is some concern about Ben Wallace because his dismal foul shooting has made him a liability at the end of close games. Virtually every big man -- except perhaps Tim Duncan -- has a weakness in some part of his game.
Ferry stressed that Ilgauskas had a strong regular season, averaging 15.6 points and 7.6 rebounds, and shooting 51 percent from the field, 83 percent at the foul line.
"It's very hard to replace that kind of production,'' he said. "Z also works well with LeBron because he can go outside and make a jump shot. That opens the middle for LeBron to drive. If you have a center who can only play near the basket, that clogs up the middle and makes it harder for LeBron to get to the rim.''
Ilgauskas turned 31 on June 5. He has missed only 10 games over the last four years. I sense Ferry's goal is not to replace Ilgauskas, but to acquire a defensive center/power forward type to come off the bench.
I've been mentioning Jamaal Magloire (Milwaukee) and Nazr Mohammed of San Antonio as possibilities for the Cavs to look at. Ferry didn't mention either of those guys, but I sense they are on the Cavs' radar screen.