Posey was denied home run
Posey wanted a deal with Cavs as a free agent
CLEVELAND - Luckily for the Celtics, the Cavaliers didn't make a strong push to bring James Posey home.
The Cleveland native acknowledged yesterday that he had strong interest in signing with the Cavaliers as a free agent last offseason. While the reigning Eastern Conference champions contacted his agent, an offer was never made to Posey.
The 6-foot-8-inch swingman eventually signed a one-year contract with the Celtics Aug. 27 and has been a key player this season.
"You ask [the Cavaliers] about that and see what they tell you," said Posey at yesterday's shootaround. "Things happen for a reason. I'm happy."
Posey, who graduated from high school in nearby Twinsburg, often spends summers here. The 31-year-old grew up a Cavaliers fan, following Mark Price, Larry Nance, and Ron Harper.
After playing the previous two seasons for Miami, Posey became interested in joining the Cavaliers when he became an unrestricted free agent last summer. An NBA source said the Cavaliers did have interest in Posey but were intent on re-signing free agent swingman Sasha Pavlovic. Pavlovic is seven years younger than Posey and has been playing for Cleveland since 2004.
"It's a business," Posey said. "You go after the players that you think will help you get to the next level or win games or things like that. It was just one of those things. I can't worry about that now.
"There was opportunity. I didn't sign with Boston until late. I'm happy that things worked out the way they did."
Posey averaged 7.4 points and 4.4 rebounds and shot 41.4 percent from 3-point range in 24.6 minutes per game for Boston during the regular season. He also finished in eighth place for the Sixth Man award.
Pavlovic missed the Cavaliers' training camp before re-signing Nov. 1. He averaged 7.4 points and 2.5 rebounds and shot 29.8 percent from 3-point range in 23.3 minutes per game in 51 contests.
"It was a pretty hard season for me starting with [the late signing]," Pavlovic said. "My injuries affected me worse because I got hurt twice. It's kind of hard to come back. I had to work hard on my game."
Posey recalls being shattered when the Cavaliers passed on him during the 1999 NBA draft. They drafted Andre Miller with the ninth selection and Trajon Langdon with the 11th before Posey was drafted out of Xavier by the Nuggets with the 18th pick. Posey noted that he is still in the NBA with the successful Celtics and he won a championship with Miami in 2006.
"Most definitely I remember that," Posey said. "[Langdon] was only in the [NBA] for about a year and a half."
Knicks land D'Antoni
Former Suns coach Mike D'Antoni has agreed to a contract to coach the Knicks.
The offer is reportedly for $24 million over four years, making him one of the league's highest-paid coaches.
Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeaux was viewed as a candidate, but an NBA source said the Knicks never contacted the Celtics for permission to interview him.
There have been reports that the Bulls and Suns are interested in Thibodeaux, but they haven't contacted the Celtics, either.
ABC analyst Mark Jackson, an ex-Knick who worked last night's Game 3 between the Celtics and Cavaliers, is also a candidate.
Tribute to Sealy
Former Timberwolves teammates Kevin Garnett and Joe Smith (now a Cavalier) always get together to honor their late teammate Malik Sealy each time they play against each other.
Sealy was killed in a Minneapolis suburb May 20, 2000, while driving home from Garnett's birthday party when his SUV was struck by a drunken driver's pickup truck traveling the wrong way down the highway.
"Even now, in this series, when I check into the game we have a certain greeting for each other," Smith said. "We both have a tattoo of Malik Sealy on our arms from when he passed away. So we touch the tattoos together and give each other a little brief hug. We are pretty close.
"It's a tough situation to get over when you lose a teammate, especially one in that fashion. [The healing process] was a team thing. Everybody was close with Malik just because of the person he was. He was the type of guy who was willing to look out for everybody and anybody on the team. When you lose someone like that, it's always tough."
Smith has fond remembrances of playing with Garnett.
"My experience playing with KG was fun," he said. "You guys see up in Boston now. Every night, a lot of energy. Every night he makes the game fun. He makes the game easy for guys around him. I kind of feel what the guys on that team are going through playing with him. It was a lot of fun for me."
Wallace answers bell
Ben Wallace, a key defensive presence for Cleveland, had been listed as doubtful for Game 3 last night because of the effects of an ear infection and allergies, but started the game, and finished with 9 points and nine rebounds in Cleveland's 108-84 romp. Wallace became dizzy and lightheaded early in Game 2 Thursday and had to depart for good with 8:20 remaining in the first quarter . . . Cavaliers coach Mike Brown was taken aback when he learned that Wallace's allergies were triggered by smoke from the Celtics' pregame pyrotechnics. "I did not know that," he said. Asked if Cleveland had a similar pregame routine, Brown replied, "We have fire coming out the scoreboard." Brown, though, said he was powerless to halt the practice. "I have no power when it comes to that," he said. 