Ilgauskas' agent denies prearranged deal with Cavs

By Michael Cunningham

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The agent for Hawks target Zydrunas Ilgauskas hopes to secure a buyout from the Wizards soon and denied there is a prearranged deal for Ilgauskas to return to the Cavaliers, Yahoo! Sports reported on Sunday.

Herb Rudoy told Yahoo! he spoke with Wizards general manager Ernie Grunfeld over the weekend. After being traded from Eastern Conference leader Cleveland to rebuilding Washington, Ilgauskas wants a buyout so he can play for a contender.

The Los Angeles Times reported the NBA won’t allow Ilgauskas to return to the Cavaliers because of evidence of a prearranged deal. Rudoy told Yahoo! the league hadn’t contacted him on the matter and that the Cavs, Wizards and Ilgauskas did not have an agreement.

“I signed off on the document that there are no other deals in place on this, and I’m not going to put my practice of representing players in jeopardy if that wasn’t true,” Rudoy told the Web site.

The Hawks plan to pursue Ilgauskas once the Wizards release him and Rudoy has said the Hawks would meet Ilgauskas' criteria for a new team. At 7-foot-3 and 260 pounds, Ilgauskas would satisfy the Hawks’ desire for a bigger center to deal with Cleveland’s Shaquille O’Neal and Orlando’s Dwight Howard in the playoffs.

Fine by Pachulia

Hawks reserve center Zaza Pachulia stands to lose playing time if the Hawks sign Ilgauskas. He said he wants minutes like all players but as a professional he would be OK with the move.

“I know ‘Z’ personally,” Pachulia said. “He’s a great guy, a good person. Everyone knows what he can do. He’s been in the league a long time. If the (Hawks) organization thinks that’s the right thing and it will help us, that’s fine with me.”