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Insurance would not cover player if he gets hurt
By Brian Windhorst
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Thursday, Feb 21, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS: This heartwarming tale has a major hitch.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas talked warmly Tuesday about telling a contingent from the Lithuanian National Team, which was in the United States last week, that he planned on playing for his country in this summer's Olympics.
The Cavaliers, however, are putting the brakes on. For the moment, and maybe longer, the club is barring Ilgauskas from playing for his national team.
There is an agreement between the international basketball governing body, FIBA, and the NBA that prevents teams from blocking players from playing on their national teams. However, Ilgauskas is one of 14 players who are exempt from that agreement, because his contract does not have full insurance.
Due to his past injury problems, when Ilgauskas signed his five-year, $52 million deal in 2005, the Cavs were unable to get coverage for potential injuries to his feet or his back. Due to that, the Cavs would be on the hook for his salary if Ilgauskas were to suffer such an injury while playing with the national team.
The Lithuanians, however, have found an insurance company in Europe that will issue coverage to protect the Cavs, and the national team has agreed to pay for the expensive policy. However, the Cavs do not have to accept and might not.
Ilgauskas has taken his case to the National Basketball Players' Association and is waiting to hear back.
''I still want to play,'' Ilgauskas said. ''We'll see what happens.''
The Cavs aren't making an official comment on the situation, but they aren't just concerned about the insurance. The team also knows how valuable the rest Ilgauskas gets in the summer is to his body.
In the locker room
• Wednesday, Ilgauskas became the sixth Cavs player in team history to reach 9,000 points in his career. LeBron James, who is on pace to become the team's all-time scoring leader by the end of the season, is one, and the other four are Brad Daugherty, Austin Carr, Mark Price and Bingo Smith.
• Anderson Varejao worked out on the court at Conseco Fieldhouse before the game and said he felt good. He's planning on having a full-contact practice with the Cavs on Saturday and is hoping to return for Tuesday's game at Milwaukee. Varejao sprained his left ankle on Jan. 27 and has been out since.
''I had a great workout here. I feel pretty good and I feel I'll be ready to go next week,'' Varejao said. ''It is not as bad as it could be. I felt terrible when it happened.''
• Assistant coach Hank Egan is back on the bench and, starting Wednesday, back on the road. He underwent a triple bypass in December and had been working part time for the past couple of weeks.
INDIANAPOLIS: This heartwarming tale has a major hitch.
Get the full article here.
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