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Zydrunas Ilgauskas' expiring contract certain to incite trade talk


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Zydrunas Ilgauskas' expiring contract certain to incite trade talk

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"Zydrunas Ilgauskas is bracing himself for the storm. For at least the next six weeks he has a new attachment to his name when it comes to clandestine trade talks and media reports: expiring contract.

 

Players with that designation are the center of the NBA's universe at this time of year, trade season.

 

"I'm sure there are going to be some teams that take a very hard look at me," Ilgauskas said before the Cavs took on the Denver Nuggets to begin their five-game Western trip Friday night.

 

"Because so many teams are trying to dump salary, I know the talks are going to pick up."

 

That is what an expiring contract does. NBA trades have to be balanced by the salaries of the players being swapped, within 25 percent by rule. But the numbers that have to match are the salaries this year, not the future.

 

So by trading for a player like Ilgauskas, who makes $11.5 million this season, for a player with a long contract can save a team tens of millions in the future. In Ilgauskas' case, the offer is potentially even sweeter than normal.

 

According to a source, Ilgauskas' payment schedule included half of his salary paid last summer and the rest of the $5.75 million spread out over payments during the season. That means a team that would trade for Ilgauskas would be left with a relatively small prorated portion to pay off Ilgauskas' remaining salary.

 

The most a team could save on such a transaction is $3 million, but every little bit helps. Especially because Ilgauskas has a kicker in his contract that would award him a $1.7 million trade bonus.

 

Adding even more intrigue to an Ilgauskas trade is the prospect that he could ask for a buyout of his contract if he's sent to a non-contender. In that case, he'd potentially take slightly less money to get out of the end of the deal and make it up by re-signing with a contender. Again, saving the team that might trade for him significant dollars.

 

"I have read about that and I've seen it happen before with other guys but no one has talked to me about anything like that," Ilgauskas said. "My desire is to stay here and play with this team but I know everything else is out of my control."

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http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2010/01/zydrunas_ilgauskas_expiring_co.html

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