More photos » by Mark Duncan - AP

7 months ago: Boston Celtics' Paul Pierce, right, defends Cleveland Cavaliers' Zydrunas Ilgauskas (11), of Lithuania, in the second quarter of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 12, 2009, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

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There's a new rumor flying around the NBA involving the Cavaliers.  This one, however, is highly unlikely.  It is being reported in various West Coast outlets that the Golden State Warriors have contacted the Cavaliers about a Stephen Jackson-for-Zydrunas Ilgauskas swap. 

Of course, our friends at Golden State of Mind would love for this to happen.  Jackson is disgruntled and Ilgauskas would give them a low-post scoring threat, as well as some much needed size.

So that begs to question - what motivation would the Cavaliers have to make such a deal?  Why sweat the details?

The fact is, the Cavaliers would have no need to make this deal, unless of course, a guy like Stephon Curry was coming back as well - or Montae Ellis.  I joke, because neither is likely available.

The name of the game for the Cavaliers this summer was to add size.  The lack of a size all over the court came back to bit the Cavaliers during the playoffs and Danny Ferry spent all off-season trying to address it.  Gone are Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic, in come Shaquille O'Neal, Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon.  All added size and length where the Cavaliers needed it most.

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by TOM HEVEZI - AP

Could LeBron have his own TV Network? (AP Photo/Tom Hevezi)

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Between now and July of 2010 we are going to hear stories that LeBron James is headed everywhere - Europe, China, L.A., and of course, New York.  Along with that will be crazy rumors regarding how teams will try to get James as much publicity, and in turn, money, as possible to attract LeBron to their city.

Perhaps the biggest so far is one reported yesterday by the NY Daily News and Frank Isola -

...the latest LeBron to the Knicks rumor I've heard is that Cablevision - which owns the Knicks but not the Daily News - will circumvent the salary cap by giving LeBron his own channel. I don't know exactly how that will work but that's what I've heard.

That's right, LeBron-TV.  Of course, as far as I understand it, the CBA Rules regarding the salary cap do not allow teams to try to circumvent the system in this way, at least not directly.  True or not, what it does show is teams are likely to get extremely creative in order to attract LeBron.

No matter what gimmicks and games New York or others try to come up with, if James holds true to his word it will be the opportunity to win multiple championships that will be the main factor and right now that opportunity lies best with Cleveland and the Cavaliers.

CelticsBlog, the best Boston Celtics site on the planet, had an interesting rumor to pass along this morning - Leon Powe could be close to accepting a deal with the Cavs.  Powe, whose energy and passion have helped him overcome numerous injuries in his career, is a free agent and coming off yet another surgery after suffering a knee injury during the Playoffs.

Per CB -

I'm told by another source (these things are just coming out of the woodwork these days) that Leon Powe is considering an offer from Cleveland.  Apparently Dallas has an offer to him as well, but with Drew Gooden signing he might be leaning towards taking the Cavs offer.  He still has not received an offer from Boston.

A note on all these rumors.  I'm not talking to agents and players myself.  I'm getting them from people that I think are credible but you can never be sure about who they are getting them from and so on.  This is the nature of rumors so please always take with a grain of salt.

Personally, I have always liked Powe and he would be a solid addition, if he could come back close to full strength.

LeBron James is apparently pulling out all the stops in attempts to get Free Agents to come to the Cavaliers.  Sources close to Free Agent Trevor Ariza have said that James told Ariza he would be in Cleveland after next season.

"Trevor asked LeBron if he would be in Cleveland after next season," the source said. "And LeBron said, 'I'll be there. Of course, I'll be there.'"

Whether or not that was simply James trying to make a sales pitch to Ariza remains to be seen, and remember, while most people believe it is a given that LeBron will opt out of his contract after next season, CBA uncertainty, along with the economy could give James reason to pause, if only for one second.

There is also the possibility that LeBron could accept an extension this summer, say, for 3 seasons.  The Cavaliers are expected to offer James the extension.

According the the report, Ariza was a bit skepticle about LeBron's guarantee to remain a Cavalier -

Ariza, who had accepted a five-year, $33.5 million offer from the Rockets last Thursday, also received telephone calls from James and Shaquille O'Neal. When James told Ariza he'd be a Cavalier past next season, Ariza was less than convinced.

"He thought it was just a recruiting tool," the source said. "LeBron definitely said it, but until he signs the contract it doesn't mean much."

Again, only time will tell, but like most of us have said all along, what reason is there for James to leave Cleveland when the Cavaliers are doing anything and everything possible to make him happy?

The Detroit Pistons struck first in Free Agency, reportedly coming to terms with Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva this afternoon, the first day teams could talk to available players.

While Gordon had been expected for awhile, the Pistons quick strike on Villanueva was a bit of a surprise, coming about most likely when Carlos Boozer decided to stay in Utah.

While the team cannot make the signings official until next week, the deals for Gordon and Villanueva look to be quite lucrative. 

Former Bulls guard Gordon will receive a five-year, $55 million deal, while former Bucks forward Villanueva gets a five-year deal for $40 million, sources told ESPN.com's Chris Broussard.

The Cavs, who were thought to be interested in Villanueva, have reportedly reached out to Ron Artest, with LeBron James making a pitch to the Rockets Forward while both players were in Los Angeles.  While it remains to be seen if Artest could be had with a mid-level deal, it can't be overlooked that a Shaq/LeBron/Artest locker room would be quite fun to follow on a daily basis.

More photos » by Ray Amati - NBAE/Getty Images

4 months ago: EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - MARCH 30: Charlie Villanueva #31 of the Milwaukee Bucks shoots a free throw during the game against the New Jersey Nets on March 30, 2009 at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Bucks won 107-78. (Photo by Ray Amati/NBAE via Getty Images)

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One name that has been tied to the Cavaliers since the end of the season as a possible free agent acquisition has officially been given the opportunity to sign with any team he'd like.  Former Buck PF Charlie Villanueva was set free by Milwaukee earlier today when the Bucks decided against offering CV31 a qualifying offer.

Villanueva, who has made quite a name for himself on Twitter, has been keeping fans up to date with himself, and what he is thinking heading into free agency.

For instance, when the Cavaliers acquired Shaquille O'neal from Phoenix last week, Villanueva seemed intrigued by the possibilites -

well, twitterland like I said there will be more trades to come, very interesting, Shaq to Cleveland, nice, all Cleveland need is a PF now

Villanueva also took to opportunity to let Cleveland fans know that their warm-wishes are appreciated -

Cleveland fans are showing me mad love on twitter, appreciate the love

Now the big question becomes whether or not the Cavaliers can afford Villanueva.  Depending on Anderson Varejao, the Cavaliers will likely have their mid-level exemption, starting at around $5.8 million.  It remains to be seen if that would be enough to get Villanueva in a Wine and Gold uniform.

Stay tuned!

So says Brian Windhorst, Cavs beat writer over at the Plain Dealer.  Per a Tweet from Windhorst,

"Take it from me, any story you see or hear about Mike Brown's job being in jeopardy is 100% false. Very poor  Cavs "journalism" this week."

Windhorst was more adament in his column this morning on Cleveland.com --

It flies in the face of common sense that removing the most successful coach in team history - whom James has credited with improving his defense and helping him mature into a leader - and tossing a stable team into chaos would help James' re-sign with the Cavs. James has supported Brown firmly, especially over the last two seasons.

Second, Riley has said he's retired from coaching and he's the president, top basketball decision maker and part owner of the Miami Heat. Later this summer, he's going to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the Heat. Riley is going nowhere.

Neither is Brown.

I think that says it all, don't ya think??

According to our friends over at PickAxe and Roll, Allen Iverson is about to be shipped out of Denver in exchange for Chauncey Billups of the Pistons.  According to the report, first posted on MLive.com, the Pistons would also send Antonio McDyess to the Nuggest in exchange for Iverson, who never seemed to fit in with Carmello Anthony -

The Detroit Pistons have reached a tentative agreement to trade Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess to the Denver Nuggets for Allen Iverson. Neither player was at this morning's shoot-around. Team officials said that more information would be forthcoming later today.

Through two games, the 32-year-old Billups is averaging 12.5 points and 7.5 assists (14.8 points and 5.5 assists for his career), while the 33-year-old Iverson, is averaging 18.7 points and 6.7 assists through three games (27.7 and 6.3 for his career).

McDyess, 34, has come off the bench to average 7 points and 4 rebounds in a pair of games.

This is obviously big news since the Cavaliers and Pistons are likely to battle it out for the Central Division title and playoff seeding this year.  My opinion, for what it is worth, is that the Pistons are worse off with Iverson than Billups, especially in a locker room that includes Rasheed Wallace.