They say the definition of insanity is to repeat the same action over and over expecting a different result.

As Paul Silas enters his second season as head coach of the Cavaliers we know that he has an affinity for jack hammering square pegs into round holes. When I first heard that Silas planned to play Jeff McInnis and Eric Snow in the same backcourt I thought there was a way it could work.

Early last season when he was still with the Portland Trailblazers Jeff McInnis played some shooting guard in place of the oft injured Derek Anderson. McInnis put up some very solid numbers being paired in the backcourt with Damon Stoudamire. Eric Snow is his years starting alongside Allen Iverson routinely guarded bigger guards instead of the diminutive Iverson. Logically, I thought it would be a situation where Snow would run the team with McInnis at shooting guard and the two would cross match defensively with Snow taking on bigger guard as he did in Philadelphia and leaving McInnis matched up against point guards something that he is much more accustomed to.

Instead, to my surprise, Silas announced as training camp began that McInnis would be the point guard citing how McInnis had earned that right with his play last year which is fine but it puts Eric Snow in a tough situation. Reinforcing Silas sentiments was McInnis adamantly stating that he is a point rather than a shooting guard with no desire to play the position. Essentially, this was McInnis marking his territory entering a contract year knowing that at 30 years old this is his last chance to earn a secure long term contract and isn't likely to get one from the Cavaliers or some other team being a shooting guard.

These circumstances have left Eric Snow in a situation where it will be nearly impossible for him to thrive. For Snow's entire career including college he has been a point guard and simply doesn't have the offensive skills of an NBA shooting guard. While Snow has worked extremely hard in his career to become a competent shooter he still lacks range on his shot and at the age of 31 is never likely to develop it. He is a career 20% three point shooter and definitely not the player you want run off screens to outside shots or to spot up and spread the floor. Snow, for all his strengths as a player, doesn't provide what the Cavaliers need in their starting lineup. Eric Snow is known as one of the league's good guys who puts team first. He has a long term contract with Cleveland being a place where he has always wanted to play so I'm pretty sure he would be willing to play less minutes in a role he would be more effective in for the good of the team.

What Silas needs to do, and he has been toying with the idea already, is to start Lucious Harris at shooting guard. Now is Harris the answer full time? No. Harris a career backup and is ending the near of his NBA road at 34 years of age but, his strength of shooting the ball is what is needed to compliment the other Cavaliers starters. Without Harris Jeff McInnis becomes the best three point shooter in the starting lineup which simply isn't enough. It leaves the Cavaliers in the same position they ended last season when they talked about acquiring more outside shooting. Another advantage of starting Harris is that he would serve as a stopgap until Luke Jackson is ready start. Jackson, who should be more than third string behind Ira Newble, has the skill set to be another catalyst to the starting lineup much in the same way McInnis has become. In addition to his good outside shot Jackson's all around ability to pass, handle the ball and run the floor combining with his basketball IQ just seems like a perfect fit with Jeff McInnis, LeBron James, Drew Gooden and Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

The ripple effects of sliding Snow to the second unit are also evident in that he is only point guard on the roster capable of playing long stretches with DaJuan Wagner. Snow's considerable experience with playing with an undersized shooting guard could prove to be invaluable to Wagner. Also, very few NBA teams have a starting quality backup point guard like Eric Snow and with him leading the backups you may not have the drastic drop-off between the starters and backups that was evident last year when the Cavaliers bench was a disaster. Having a veteran floor leader like Snow Silas could be less hesitant to put an Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic on the floor since they would have a steady veteran like Snow to shepherd them.

At some point Silas has to get past his stubbornness. He messed around with Darius Miles at point guard, DaJuan Wagner at point guard, etc., etc. for too long until the obvious decision to scrap the experiments finally got to him. Maybe the reason why his teams do better in the second halves of season is because they aren't ready to start the season. Everyone knows what kind of player Snow is and what he can and cannot do and one doesn't need a training camp and eight preseason game to see that he isn't an NBA shooting guard. Silas' efforts to appease a sometimes moody Jeff McInnis and show respect to the veteran Eric Snow whom the franchise has coveted for years will do nothing but take time away from units that need to be together in order to develop some chemistry.

The proper lineup change now may preclude the team from a typical Silas slow start.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have announced that they have signed center Scott Williams to a contract. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Williams a 14 year veteran will bring the experience to the Cavaliers that they lost when they traded Tony Battie during the offseason.

The 36 year old has been with 6 different teams throughout his career including being a member of 3 World Championship teams in Chicago with Micheal Jordon. At 6-10 260 pounds Williams will bring more of a inside influence than the light Clark would have and much more stability. For his career Williams has averaged 5.2 points and 4.6 rebounds a game.

Update: It's now apparent that what CavsWatch said yesterday about the Cavaliers having more interest in Scott Williams is true. It's been confirmed that Keon Clark won't be offered a contract after meeting with the Cavaliers yesterday and Scott Williams should be Cavalier in the next 2 or 3 days.

Williams a 14 year veteran will bring the experience to the Cavaliers that they lost when they traded Tony Battie during the offseason.

The 36 year old has been with 6 different teams throughout his career including being a member of 3 World Championship teams in Chicago with Micheal Jordon. At 6-10 260 pounds Williams will bring more of a inside influence than the light Clark would have and much more stability. For his career Williams has averaged 5.2 points and 4.6 rebounds a game.

It appears that the Cleveland Cavaliers have managed to track down the elusive 6-11, 220 pound Center Keon Clark. Clark is scheduled to arrive in Cleveland today for a private workout with the club. 

The Cavaliers have been in search of a back up center to Zydrunas Ilgauskas since the Grizzlies matched the offer for Jake Tsakalidis two weeks ago and their obvious disappointment in DeSagana Diop's progress as an NBA Center.

Clark after playing in only 2 games with the Utah Jazz last season was traded to the Phoenix Suns where he failed to appear at all.

Though Clark could be signed as early as today there is other talk that Scott Williams remains a possibility. Although older and not as athletic as Clark, some on the coaching staff would prefer Williams to Clark.

Brendan Malone will be replacing Mark Osowski, who died last month at the age of 41 following complications after undergoing pancreatic surgery.

The 62-year-old Malone brings a wealth of basketball knowledge to Paul Silas' staff in Cleveland. He is the second new addition this offseason, joining Kenny Natt, who spent nine seasons with Utah.

"Brendan's experience will be a valuable asset to me and the rest of my coaching staff," Silas said. "He's a veteran coach that shares my vision for success and understands what is necessary to win."

In 1995-96, Malone was the first coach of the expansion Raptors. He has also worked as an assistant with the New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers. Malone won two NBA titles in Detroit. Malone was with the Knicks last year before being fired by Isiah Thomas this off season.

Jerry West of the Memphis Grizzlies has announced that they have matched the offer made by the Cleveland Cavaliers for Jake Tsakalidis yesterday.

 “Jake is an important part of the Grizzlies future,” said Grizzlies President of Basketball Operations Jerry West. “and we are thrilled that he will continue to grow with our team for years to come.” 

Tsakalidis spent last season with the Grizzlies after being drafted by the Phoenix Suns in 2000 out of Greece.

In 40 games last season he averaged, 4.3 points/3.2 rebounds...making his career average 5.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

Terms of the 3 year deal were not given for the 7 foot 2 inch 25 year old center.

Jim Paxson has announced that the Cleveland Cavaliers have signed free agent Center Jake Tsakalidis to an offer sheet. 

Tsakalidis spent last season with the Memphis Grizzlies after being drafted by the Phoenix Suns in 2000 out of Greece.

In 40 games last season he averaged, 4.3 points/3.2 rebounds...making his career average 5.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

Terms of the deal were not given but the Grizzlies now have 15 days to match the offer for the 7 foot 2 inch 25 year old center.

In Athens Larry Brown has shown himself to be stubborn and self serving. So far putting his own reputation above the good of the US mens basketball team. Yes, yes he didn’t get to pick his team. They are too young, they don’t listen, they work hard on defense. Bull, Larry Brown is just distancing himself from this team if they don’t win.

He watched this team get beat up during practice games and complained about the guys that weren’t here. He watched them lose to Puerto Rico and complained about the guys that weren’t buying in. 

So how can you explain guys like Stephan Marbury who can’t hit a jump shot these days if we widen the hoop by 3 feet? Or Carmelo Anthony, showing what we already knew, that he is a me player that will chuck up everything in site. Yes he can score, but he doesn’t play defense or a very good team offense.

Then you have guys like LeBron James who come in and take the team on 10-0, 13-2 runs and then sit’s the rest of the game. Dwayne Wade who pushes the ball inside consistently and plays hard on the defensive end. But they are kids, too young for Brown’s big ego to deal with. This is why Brown couldn’t win in Philadelphia with Allen Iverson, if it’s not all about Brown and his system then it’s not his fault.

How about the next time the US plays international competition we find a coach that will coach to the strength’s of the players instead of demanding them to change their game to the point where none of them can play any longer. Brown keeps trying to come up with excuses.

But if the US team doesn’t win the gold, it will be on the shoulders of one man, the man that despite having 12 superstars on his team, is still the man with the biggest ego. So far this team has lost as many games this Olympics as it has in the previous 68 years combined. But, he will have you believe that the loses are everyone’s but his fault, but the truth is, if he wasn’t so stubborn about having to play one way, and so determined to run from this team when they struggle, that he is failing to miss the one thing that matters. 

This is not about him, this is about the Olympics and representing your country. Something that Larry Brown has been telling his players…maybe he should tell himself. But the most likely thing he will do, is grab his running shoes like he does everywhere he goes. So many think of him as a genius, but this Olympics has shown me what he really is, a man that won’t coach through hardship, but runs from it. That is not a great coach, nor a great man.

The 4 time All-Star (all with the Cavaliers) averaged 15.2 points, 6.7 assists and over a 40% rate at sinking three pointers during his career. Even more notably are his 47 playoff games (again all with the Cavaliers) in which he average 17.4 points, and 7 assists per game in leading some of the best Cavalier teams to ever step onto the court.

Price was traded in the summer of 1995 to the then Washington Bullets, and for the life of me I can't remember who. If you have the info on hand email it to me and I'll amend it. I'm sure I could find it but that will just start me on a tirade about the mid-nineties management. Just as a side note Price was not called about the trade, he heard it on a sports radio station on his way to Cleveland.  

Price retired as the best free throw shooter in the history of the NBA, shooting at an amazing 90.4%. Along with his 2 Three point championships during all-star weekend. Price was known as one of the best marksmen in the history of the NBA.