Cavs May be Hurt by Finley

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The San Antonio Spurs were the winners of the Michael Finley derby. Even though they weren't in the game for him, count the Cavaliers as potential losers.

ESPN.com was first to report Wednesday that Finley, released by the Dallas Mavericks under the amnesty provision three weeks ago, had chosen to play for the reigning world champs. Finley's decision to spurn the Miami Heat, who were thought to be the front-runners for his services, might haunt the Cavaliers.

The team has been waiting weeks for an answer from free-agent point guard Damon Jones. They are believed to have offered Jones, a 3-point specialist who averaged 11.6 points and shot 43 percent on 3-pointers last year, a contract starting at about $3.5 million per season.

Jones, however, has been waiting out the Heat, with whom he'd like to return after having a breakout season. Had the Heat signed Finley, they wouldn't have had the money to match the Cavaliers' offer or perhaps the desire to re-sign Jones, who opted out of a contract that would've paid him $2.75 million next season.

The Heat now still have all of their $5 million mid-level exception to use, which means they can match or beat the Cavaliers' offer to Jones. More importantly, though, they have a need for another shooter, and Jones is the best on the market and wants to return.

While the Cavaliers were waiting on Jones, they had guards Jannero Pargo, Steve Blake and Earl Watson in for free-agent visits. It is likely the team will attempt to sign one of them, if Jones indeed decides to return to the Heat. None of them, however, had been full-time starters in the NBA.</div>

Source