Ilgauskas to retire after season?
On Friday, long-time Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas hinted that he might consider retiring after this season.
“I think I still have at least a few good years of basketball left in me, it’s whether I would like to do it,” he said. “It gets hard every year mentally and physically. We’ve been playing long seasons the last few years. It all stacks up.”
Ilgauskas has a history of injury problems, particularly with his legs and feet. Being a 7-footer and being a professional athlete will do that to you. But Ilgauskas also stated that he has no interest in being on a team that’s rebuilding. Obviously, that’s a direct reference to the LeBron James sweepstakes in the Summer of 2010. Should James depart after this year, it’d be hard to imagine the Cavs finding a way to add enough pieces to remain a serious title threat.
What he does have in his favor, though, is the addition of Shaquille O’Neal via trade this offseason. As strange as it sounds for a player being relegated to the bench being a good thing, in this case, it is. Playing less minutes and not having to exert as much effort defensively banging with some of the most dominant centers in the league should give him a better chance of staying healthy and relatively pain-free this season.
Head coach Mike Brown believes that Ilgauskas could play for a very long time.
“Z could play as long as he wants. I think 7-footers, especially guys that have skill, can play forever,” Brown said. “There have been a lot of 7-footers who have played into their late 30s and even early 40s. You can’t coach size or teach size. They’re going to be big whether they move slow or slower.”
Brown could be right. Aging centers with high basketball IQs who play to their strengths and not their limitations as they slow down have had great success in the NBA: Think Vlade Divac or Ardvydas Sabonis. Or more recently, Dikembe Mutombo and Fabricio Oberto.
