The Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired 24-year old rookie center Semih Erden and 23-year old rookie forward Luke Harangody from the Boston Celtics for Minnesota’s 2nd round pick in 2013.  Erden is a 7’0″, 240 pound center out of Turkey and he was a 2nd round pick last June.  He played in 37 games (7 starts) for the Celtics this season and he averaged 14.4 minutes, 4.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  Erden is shooting 59.8% from the floor with a lot of his shots coming from close range.  But, he is only shooting 63% from the free throw line which he needs to improve on.  Erden gives the Cavs nice size and a tough guy in the paint.  Luke Harangody played in 28 games (0 starts) for the Celtics this season and he averaged 8.6 minutes, 2.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  But, he is only shooting 39.4% from the floor but the Cavs think he’ll improve in that area with consistent P.T.  The Cavaliers have nothing to lose by getting Semih Erden and Luke Harangody on the court quite a bit the rest of the way.  This was a outstanding trade for the Cavs as they really didn’t give up much for these guys.

The Cavaliers have dealt 28-year old shooting guard Mo Williams & 30-year old small forward Jamario Moon to the Clippers for 31-year point guard Baron Davis and the Clippers’ first round pick in 2011.  Williams played in 36 games (34 starts) for the Cavs this season and he averaged 29.6 minutes, 13.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game.  He has played in 186 games (183 starts) in his three years with the Cavs and he averaged 33.6 minutes, 16.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game.  Williams just hasn’t been the same player this season but maybe a change of scenery will do him some good.  Jamario Moon played in 40 games (13 starts) for the Cavs this season and he averaged 19.1 minutes, 4.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.  Moon played in 101 games (15 starts) in two years with the Cavaliers in which he averaged 18.0 minutes, 4.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.  Moon won’t be missed too much, if at all, the rest of the year.

Baron Davis really likes Byron Scott so maybe he will play well for the Cavs.  Davis played in 43 games (35 starts) for the Clippers last season and he averaged 29.5 minutes, 12.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game.  He has now played in 791 games (669 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 34.9 minutes, 16.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.9 steals per game.  The Cavaliers wanted the dr aft pick more than they wanted Davis as the Clippers’ pick is very likely to be in the lottery.  This was a good deal for the rebuilding Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will be without 28-year old point guard Mo Williams indefinitely due to a hip problem.  Williams has played in 33 games (32 starts) for the Cavs so far this year and he is averaging 30.4 minutes, 13.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 7.1  assists per game.  His hip is probably one of the reasons that his shooting is way off so far this year.  Williams is only hitting 38.7% of his shots from the floor and 26.6% of his shots from three point range.  The Cavaliers should let Williams take his time getting healthy because he didn’t help the team much by playing hurt.

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for the Cavs….they have.  28-year old starting center Anderson Varejao is out for the season as he will need surgery to repair a torn tendon in his right foot!  He was injured in practice last Thursday while doing a running drill.  Varejao played in 31 games  (all starts) for the Cavs this year and he averaged 32.1 minutes, 9.1 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game.  Varejao has now played in 419 games (103 starts) in his first seven years with the Cavs and he is averaging 24.7 minutes, 7.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.  Varejao is #9 in Cavs’ history in rebounds (2,896) and he’s #10 in blocked shots with 306.  The good news for Cavaliers’ fans is that they won’t trade Varejao now as many teams were trying to get their hands on him.  The bad news is that the Cavs are going to be a lot more horrible without Varejao in the middle and that’s scary as they are 8-28 right now!

The Cavaliers will be without 24-year old shooting guard Daniel Gibson for at least the next five games due to a sprained ankle.  Gibson has played in 32 games (11 starts) for the Cavs so far this year and he is averaging 29.3 minutes, 13.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.  The Cavs are really going to miss Gibson’s shooting stroke as he is hitting 44% of his shots from three point range so far this year.  This is just another bad break for the woeful Cavaliers.

The Cavs have signed 23-year old SG/SF Alonzo Gee.  Gee played in 16 games (5 starts) for the Spurs & Wizards earlier this year and he averaged 9.1 minutes, 2.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  He has now played in 27 games (7 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 12.1 minutes, 4.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  Gee is shooting 46.1% from the floor and 63.6% (7 of 11) from three point range so far this year.  With the Cavs hurting offensively don’t be surprised if Gee gets a chance to show what he can do quickly.

The Cavaliers have sent rookie forward Samardo Samuels to the D-League.  Samuels played in 4 games (0 starts) for the Cavaliers so far this year and he was averaging 4.5 minutes, 3.3 points and 1.0 rebound per game.  The Cavaliers wanted to get Samuels some P.T. instead of being nailed to the bench.  I think he will be back with the Cavaliers at some point this season when they decide to go young.

The Cavaliers have waived 27-year old small forward Jawad Williams.  Williams played in 26 games (1 start) for the Cavaliers this year and he averaged 15.0 minutes, 4.0 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  He only shot 32.5% from the floor and 28.9% from three point range this year for the Cavs.  Williams played in 90 games (7 starts) in parts of three years with the Cavs and he averaged 12.8 minutes, 3.8 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  He shot 36.9% from the floor and 31.3% from three point range in his career with the Cavs.  Small forwards that can’t shoot aren’t too valuable so I don’t think the Cavs are going to miss Jawad Williams too much going forward.

Small forward Joey Graham and power forward Leon Powe are both likely to miss the next week for the Cavaliers due to injury.  Graham has played in 16 games (8 starts) for the Cavaliers so far this year and he is averaging 19.3 minutes, 7.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  Anthony Parker has replaced Graham as the starting small forward with Daniel Gibson taking over as the starting shooting guard.  But, Graham really helps the Cavs off the bench so they are going to miss him unless Jamario Moon or Jawad Williams step up.  Graham has a bruised quad.  Leon Powe has a nasty cut on his finger injured on the rim.  Powe can’t even grip a ball right now.  He has played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Cavs so far this year and he is averaging 12.1 minutes, 4.6 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.

UPDATE:  Graham is now going to miss 2-3 weeks with his quad injury.

35-year old center Zydrunas Ilgauskas is also returning to Cleveland tonight to play against the Cavaliers.  I expect Big Z to get a rousing ovation and the ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ chant when he’s introduced as the Heat’s starting center tonight.  Unlike, Queen James, Ilgauskas has class.  He sat out with the Wizards last season to return to the Cavaliers to try to win a championship.  I don’t blame him at all for signing on with the Heat to try to win a championship but I hope he doesn’t get one.  Ilgauskas has played in 19 games (10 starts) for the Heat this year and he is averaging 17.9 mintues, 6.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  Big Z is also shooting 56.8% from the floor and 78.6% from the free throw line as he has been a asset of the Heat this year.

Unlike LeBron James, I think Zydrunas Ilgauskas will someday see his jersey hanging from the Quicken Loans Arena roof.  Ilgauskas played twelve seasons for the Cavaliers and he’s all over the record books of the Cavs.  Ilgauskas is the Cavs’ all-time leader in games played (771), rebounds (5,904) and blocked shots (1,269).  Big Z is also the Cavs’ #2 all-time scorer with 10,616 points.  Maybe Queen James should have learned from Big Z how to have some class.