In a move that very few people found surprising, Zydrunas Ilgauskas officially signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers this week and played for them against the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday night. Ilgauskas has never played an NBA game for a team other than the Cavaliers. He was traded at the deadline for forward Antawn Jamison, but was promptly bought out by the Wizards and re-signed with the Cavaliers as soon as he was eligible. Ilgauskas did have other teams that were interested in signing him, but he ultimately chose to return to the team that originally drafted him out of Lithuania.
In an interview with ESPN 850 WKNR’s Michael Reghi, Ilgauskas explained why he returned to Cleveland:
“I just felt like I had unfinished business here in Cleveland. I felt like I was leaving, not only a lot friends, but a lot of guys that I consider like a family to me. Everything happened so sudden and when everything settled down, I had a chance to look at my options and think about it and I really couldn’t pull myself away. If I wasn’t going to come back and this team would win a championship, I don’t think I would forgive myself for not being there. That was the biggest thing. I just wanted to be a part of it.”
