Cavaliers' West ponders going east
LeBron James could crush the world for an Olympic gold medal this summer, but the evolving power of the euro could cost him his Cleveland Cavaliers point guard.
This time, the overseas revolution of outbidding NBA teams for restricted free agents advances with Dynamo Moscow discussing a two-year, $10 million offer with Delonte West, a source close to West said on Thursday.
Clearly, Dynamo is a franchise with the resources to be taken seriously. Just a week ago, it lured New Jersey Nets forward Bostjan Nachbar with a three-year, $14.3 million contract.
Nachbar's contract turned into a prelude to Atlanta Hawks free agent Josh Childress signing a groundbreaking three-year, $20 million deal with Olympiakos of Greece. So far this summer, four international players with NBA résumés – Jorge Garbajosa, Juan Carlos Navarro, Carlos Delfino and Pops Mensah-Bonsu – have taken substantial offers in Europe.
As with most restricted free agents, West has few options right now. He could sign a $2.76 million qualifying offer for the 2008-09 season and become an unrestricted free agent next year. General manager Danny Ferry has considered sign-and-trade possibilities for West but ultimately has wanted to keep West.
Last summer, Cleveland's two restricted free agents, Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic, held out with contract disputes that extended into the regular season.
After his trade from the Seattle SuperSonics at the February deadline, West won the Cavaliers' starting point guard job, averaging 10.5 points and four assists per game. In pushing the Boston Celtics to seven games in the Eastern Conference semifinals, West averaged 14.5 points – including two 21-point performances – over the final five games. James had wanted the Cavaliers to acquire an available point guard such as Jason Kidd or Mike Bibby, but he developed a fondness for West.
