39-year old center Shaquille O’Neal came to the Cavs in a deal with the Suns prior to the beginning of the 2009-10 season.  He proclaimed to come to Cleveland to win a Ring for the King.  Well, that didn’t work out too well.  O’Neal played in 53 games (all starts) for the Cavaliers in 2009-10 and he averaged 23.4 minutes, 12.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game.  Yesterday, O’Neal decided to hang up his sneakers and retire from the NBA.  He played in 1,207 games (1,197 starts) in his NBA career and he averaged 34.7 minutes, 23.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.3 blocked shots per game.  Cavaliers’ fans got to see a fading Shaq, but it was nice to see a sure fire Hall of Famer donning a Cavs’ uniform for a year.

The LeBron James era was no better than the Mark Price, Brad Daugherty and Larry Nance era of the Cavaliers.  47-year old Mark Price was a big part of the success the Cavaliers had those years and that’s why his number is hanging from the roof of the Q.  Price played in 582 games (495 starts) in his 9 regular seasons with the Cavaliers and he averaged 31.1 minutes, 16.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game.  Price also played well in the playoffs.  He played in 47 games in the playoffs for the Cavaliers and he averaged 36.0 minutes, 17.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game.  Price is the Cavaliers’ all-time leader in assists (4,206), three pointers made (802) and free throw % (90.6%).  He is also #6 in games played (582), #2 in steals (734) and he’s #5 in points scored (9,543) in Cavaliers’ history.  Price was a little man (6’0″, 170 pounds) who had a fire that burned in him that caused him to succeed.  He also had Christian concerts after games quite often, showing what kind of a guy he was off the court.  Mark Price, unlike another unnamed player, exuded class and that’s why he is revered in Cleveland sports history.

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.

25-year old LeBron James makes his first return on the basketball court to the city of Cleveland where he is going to be public enemy #1!  It wasn’t the fact that James decided to leave Cleveland that has Cavs’ fans so fired up….it’s how he did it.  He also dogged the city of Cleveland early on after his “decision”  and that won’t be forgotten any time soon.  Unlike Art Modell who moved the Browns and never had to return to Cleveland, LeBron James is going to have to do it every year until he retires from the NBA.  That makes him now the most hated man in Cleveland and he will take the brunt of the venom of all Cleveland sports fans for the rest of his time in the NBA.  James has not been his old self in Miami this year.  He has played in 19 games (all starts) for the Heat this year and he is averaging 37.4 minutes, 23.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 1.6 steals and a shocking 4.2 turnovers per game.  His shooting has also been awful as he is only hitting 44.8% from the floor, 28.6% from three point range and 78.3% from the free throw line this year.  James is going to be brutalized mentally in this game as the fans who once cheered him are going to say a lot of nasty things about him and his crackhead momma.

Someone asked James if he would like to have his number retired in Cleveland and he pretty much said yes.  If his number ever gets retired it won’t likely be while he is alive to enjoy it despite being all over the Cavs’ record books.  James is tied for #7 in Cavs’ history in games played (548), he is #4 in rebounds (3,861), #2 in assists (3,810), #1 in steals (955), #4 in blocked shots (482) and he is the Cavs’ all time leading scorer with 15,251 points.  I think Pete Rose has a better chance of getting into the Hall of Fame than James has of seeing #23 hanging from the rafters at Quicken Loans Arena.

Queen James is going to get what he deserves tonight.

LeBron James might be the Cavs’ all-time leader in points scored (15,521) and steals (955) but he didn’t show any class in how he left the Cavaliers so I don’t think his jersey should be retired and be next to Mark Price, Brad Daugherty and Larry Nance’s. Mark Price played 9 years for the Cavs appearing in 582 games (495 starts) in which he averaged 31.1 minutes, 16.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Price also shot 40.9% from three point range and 90.6% from the free throw line in his time with the Cavaliers. Price is the Cavs’ all-time leader in assists with 4,206. He is also #2 in three pointers made (802), #2 in steals (734) and #5 in points scored (9,543) in Cavs’ history. Price was also a class act as he often had christian concerts after Cavaliers games. Brad Daugherty played in 548 games (546 starts) in his 8 years with the Cavs and he averaged 36.5 minutes, 19.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. Daugherty is #2 all-time in rebounds (5,227) in Cavs’ history. He also is #6 in assists (2,028), #9 in steals (422), #7 in blocked shots (397) and he is #3 in points (10,389) in Cavs’ history. Larry Nance came to the Cavaliers later in his career. He played seven years for the Cavs appearing in 433 games (406 starts) in which he averaged 34.6 minutes, 16.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.5 blocked shots per game. He is #3 all-time in blocked shots (1,087) in Cavs’ history. He is also #6 in rebounds (3,561) and #8 in points scored (7,257) in Cavs’ history. These three guys exuded class both on and off the court and each of them won as many games in the NBA Finals as LeBron James……0!

Power forward Roy Hinson only played three years for the Cavaliers. He played in 238 games (218 starts) in his time with the Cavaliers and he averaged 29.6 minutes, 13.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.8 blocked shots per game. Hinson was one of the only reasons to tune in and what the Cavs because he was awesome around the basket as he loved to dunk over anyone and anytime. He also was a outstanding defensive player and a solid rebound. In his three years with the Cavs they compiled a 93-153 record (37.8%). Hinson’s biggest contribution for the Cavs however was what they got for him when they traded him to the Philadelphia 76ers. That was a rookie center named Brad Daugherty. Daugherty only played 8 years with the Cavaliers before retiring due to a bad back. But, he played in 548 games (546 starts) with the Cavs and he averaged 36.5 minutes, 19.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. Daugherty led the Cavs to 7 playoff appearances in the 8 years he played with them as they compiled a 363-293 (55.3%) record. Daugherty was one of the players who revived the Cavaliers and Cavs’ fans can thank Roy Hinson for that.