<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Cavaliers owner and amateur prop comic Dan Gilbert was last seen at Gund Arena handing new coach Mike Brown a souvenir clock. It was Gilbert's way of showing the former Indiana Pacers assistant he would be given time to succeed. Get it? Someone might want to ply Gilbert with another useful tool for measuring time. It's called a calendar. The official start to the NBA's free-agency period is July 1. In truth, savvy player agents already are negotiating deals with general managers and presidents of basketball operations from the league's 30 teams. The Cavaliers are the only franchise without a full-time front office in place. They have roughly $25 million in cap space -- the second most available behind the Atlanta Hawks -- and no general manager or team president on board to spend it. Eight days away from the most crucial week of the LeBron James era and the Cavaliers' house resembles the morning after a Delta toga party. You think Detroit Pistons coach Larry Brown, the man rumored to be the Cavaliers' next president, woke up today focused on selling the merits of Cleveland to free agents Michael Redd or Ray Allen? Michael, I've got a little thing I need to attend to tonight, but let's talk soon. Did I tell you Dan Gilbert is putting in new wine-colored seats at The Gund? By courting the likes of Larry Brown and San Antonio Spurs executive Danny Ferry, Gilbert is waiting until the last minute to finalize the Cavaliers' brain trust. The NBA Finals have played out to a decisive seventh game. The Cavaliers can't make a formal announcement until the weekend at the earliest -- if indeed Brown and Ferry are their management team. The ailing Brown is expected to visit the Mayo Clinic and might meet with the New York Knicks about their coaching vacancy. Tick, tick, tick. The shot clock is winding down and the Cavaliers haven't called a play. Can a team make an immediate impact through free agency? Absolutely. Look at the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns the past two years. Each has made major strides. Neither was in the process of rebuilding its front office. The Suns reached a deal to acquire reigning league Most Valuable Player Steve Nash within hours of the July 1, 2004, deadline. They secured Quentin Richardson not long after. The good players will go quickly. The Cavaliers need more than a max-contract shooting guard. They must hit on second- and third-tier free agents, as well. The importance of the coming weeks can't be overstated. It might serve as the franchise's last opportunity to overhaul the roster with James on it. What are the strategies and contingency plans? How do they divvy up the free-agent money? What will they do with Zydrunas Ilgauskas? Will Redd or Allen come to Cleveland as a second offensive option?</div> Source
