Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry is a smart guy. He's got to realize this team needs to upgrade its point-guard position via free agency or trade in order to complete the process that started July 1.


Some think he's secretly plotting a major trade to land a starting point guard.

If he goes into the season with Eric Snow as his starter, he might be doing the team a disservice. What makes anyone think Snow is going to suddenly turn around his career that has been on the decline the last two years?

He's 32 years old and he shot 38.2 percent from the floor last year. Snow averaged 4.0 points and 3.9 assists. His shooting has become a detriment. He'll get many wide-open looks this season because opposing defenders will leave him to double center Zydrunas Ilgauskas or forward LeBron James.

At this stage of his career, Snow's best suited as a backup. He still plays good defense and can run the offense and find the open man, but Ferry needs to find a starting point guard with the money he has remaining under the salary cap (thought to be between $3.5 million and $3.7 million).

He made a run at unrestricted free agent Damon Jones and talks have reportedly stalled. Ferry moved onto a second tier of free agents, including Steve Blake, Jannero Pargo and possibly Dan Dickau -- even though insiders say he might not be real high on him. However, that might be nothing but a ploy to force Jones to take their offer.

Each of those players would make good backups, but the Cavaliers need a starter, even though they are paying Snow starter money.

Reports out of Miami say Jones wants $4 million a year to return to the Heat. If the Cavaliers offer between $3.3 million or $3.4 million, maybe for three or four years, would he agree to come to Cleveland?

That's a question for him and his agent to ponder. The Cavaliers have to revisit this. He'd be a perfect fit for this team and might be the difference from being a first-round playoff loser and advancing to the second round.

His 3-point shooting would make an impact on the Cavaliers.

The point-guard field is slowly drying up. Will the Cavaliers be shut out of this whole process? Marko Jaric, who appeared to be an early target, is no longer available. He was sent to Minnesota on Friday in a sign-and-trade for veteran Sam Cassell. Jaric got the full mid-level exception worth almost $40 million.

NBA smart

Say what you want about the NBA. It definitely has some warts. However, the way it structured its rookie pay scale was a stroke of genius.

There are no more rookie holdouts in the NBA. First-round picks play for the rookie scale, plus a 20-percent raise, or they don't play at all.

The NFL must adopt this rule soon, as the Browns realized in the Braylon Edwards case. Of course, the players and agents will balk at such a move. They love the option of holding out and milking every last dime out of the owners.

The Lithuanian gypsy

Sarunas Jasikevicius was born in Lithuania, owns a home in Spain and has played the last two seasons in Israel. Now after nixing an offer from the Cavaliers -- among other suitors -- the veteran point guard is joining one of the top teams in the league.

He signed a three-year, $12 million deal with the Indiana Pacers. They offered $4 million, knowing the Cavaliers couldn't come close to that. Even some Pacers employees thought he was headed to Cleveland.

Utah reportedly offered the most money, about $14 million over three years, and Portland and Seattle also made offers. He thought long and hard about joining Ilgauskas, his best friend since they met at a basketball camp when Jasikevicius was 6. Jasikevicius was the best man at Z's wedding last summer, and they attended Wimbledon together this summer. He is also close friends with Cavaliers forward Anderson Varejao, a former teammate in Barcelona, Spain. Because of this, it was difficult for him to say no.

''That's why I was taking such a long time to decide,'' he told the Indianapolis Star. ''It was a terrible time for me.

''One of our dreams was to play with one another, but ultimately, I felt like the Pacers were the better fit for me. We were both disappointed. This is the biggest downfall to signing with Indiana. I'm not going to play with my childhood friend.''

Rumor mill

- There's absolutely no truth to the report out of Minnesota that the Cavaliers had entertained trade talks involving Timberwolves point guard Troy Hudson. It's never been discussed.

- Dick Watson, who is still part of Gordon Gund's ownership group, will remain the team's legal counsel. He has totally inhaled the new collective bargaining agreement and will be a huge benefit to the team in that area. He was one of the authors of the CBA several years ago. He knows it inside and out.

- New Knicks coach Larry Brown wants Snow in New York. He's asked Knicks president Isiah Thomas to look into what it would take to get Snow from Cleveland. However, it's not going to be easy to make such a deal, even though a three-way trade might work. The Cavaliers would have to get a point guard back from one of the teams.

- It looks like Jahidi White, a 6-foot-9, 290-pound behemoth, could be joining the Cavaliers as their backup center. He visited this week and could sign for the veteran's minimum for around $965,000.

- New Jersey and New York have legitimate interest in former Cavaliers center DeSagana Diop. They like his length and ability to block shots.

- The New York Post reports that the Knicks won't waive guard Allan Houston under the amnesty clause of the new CBA. So much for calling it the ''Allan Houston rule.'' Houston might agree to a medical retirement. He would get his full salary, but the insurance company -- and not the Knicks -- would pay 75 percent of Houston's $39.8 million salary, minus a 20-percent deductible.

Quick shots

- Looking at the Cavaliers' 2005-06 schedule, the team had better hope it has a playoff spot wrapped up heading into the final two weeks of the regular season. They play six of their final eight games on the road. That's anything but an ideal way to end the season.

- Ferry is getting high marks from those around him. ''He's given us a great sense of direction and has brought stability to the team,'' Cavaliers president Len Komoroski said. ''The proof is in the pudding, but we all have confidence in him.''

- Former Cavaliers GM Wayne Embry is recovering from hernia surgery. He is currently assistant to the president with the Raptors.

BFinnan@news-herald.com

Diop would be a good fit for at least 5 minutes off the bench every night. Goodbye Bruno.

i want 0 part of eric snow. hes got 4 years and 25mm$ on his contract ----his play fell off the table and he's 32 years old. We have enough guards right now. Solidifying 3-4-5 long term is the only personell decisions we need to think about, unless there is a no-brainer type on the table, like Baron Davis for nothing.

Posted by BRIGGS:

i want 0 part of eric snow. hes got 4 years and 25mm$ on his contract ----his play fell off the table and he's 32 years old. We have enough guards right now. Solidifying 3-4-5 long term is the only personell decisions we need to think about, unless there is a no-brainer type on the table, like Baron Davis for nothing.

I agree, except I'd leave the "4" out. Unless it's a clear upgrade, the Knicks don't need any more "4s". (Boozer and Gasol are my hypothetical minimum threshold; they're clear upgrades at the 4.)