Low pick may put Ferry on the move

The GM expects to be busy leading up to tonight's draft.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- The Cleveland Cavaliers paid a price for finally returning to the NBA playoffs. They'd gladly pay it again, too.
Normally owning one pick -- and sometimes two -- near the top of the draft, the Cavs aren't scheduled to choose until No. 25 today. Barring a trade, it will be the team's lowest opening-round selection since 1989.
That could change quickly, though, perhaps with the next incoming call on general manager Danny Ferry's very active cell phone.
Although he doesn't consider this a deep draft, Ferry's hoping the bottom of the first round yields another player to excite soon-to-be-richer superstar LeBron James and bring the Cavs closer to a title.
"There have been good players taken in the draft that late (25)," Ferry said, citing San Antonio guard Tony Parker (No. 28 in 2001) and Dallas forward Josh Howard (No. 29 in '03) as examples. "Those are exceptions, and we'd like to find one of those exceptions."
Own two second-round picks
The Cavaliers, who later this week will nervously offer James a five-year, $80 million contract extension, also own two second-round picks (Nos. 44 and 55). Ferry, though, doubts the club will hang onto them.
"I would be surprised if we had three rookies on our team next year," he said, coming closest to revealing a well-guarded draft hand.
One of Ferry's options is to select an international player and leave him overseas to work on his game. It's a strategy that the Spurs, Ferry's former club, used successfully to groom Parker and then Manu Ginobli.
Also, Ferry, who took over as Cleveland's GM the day before last year's draft, could trade one or more of his picks to move up and get a targeted player. Ferry doesn't expect to jump into the lottery -- the top 15 -- but at this point, anything is possible.
"We have Plan A, Plan B and Plan C," he said. "We have a group of guys targeted. We've also targeted guys up above where we're picking. Hopefully a guy slips and we're there to capitalize on that."
Ferry refused to specify on the Cavs' needs, but they are obvious.
Needs point guard
Cleveland could use a point guard to either compete with 33-year-old Eric Snow for the starting job or come off the bench and lessen James' ball-handling duties. Though a dependable leader on and off the floor, Snow has offensive limitations, as does 3-point specialist Damon Jones, whose defense is suspect at best. Both weaknesses were exposed and exploited in the Cavs' second-round loss to the Detroit Pistons.
Cavs coach Mike Brown and his staff put more than 30 players through pre-draft workouts, including several point guards. Among those who could be available at No. 25 are Daniel Gibson (Texas), Dee Brown (Illinois), Mardy Collins (Temple), Will Blalock (Iowa State), Kyle Lowery (Villanova) and Jordan Farmar (UCLA).
Ferry denied a report that the club has settled on Gibson, a solid perimeter defender who averaged 13.4 points per game last season and is skipping his final two years with the Longhorns.
"Our 25th pick has not been guaranteed to anyone," he said.
When Cleveland's turn does come around, Ferry will have to balance picking for need with getting optimum talent.
"You do have to address your needs in the draft, but you also want to take the best player that you can," he said. "Ideally, if that matches up, you're in good shape. I think we can get better everywhere. There's one position, obviously, where we can't get better, and you know who that is."
You know who is James.
Will begin negotiations
On Saturday, the Cavs will contact the All-Star guard's agent, Leon Rose, and begin negotiations on a contract extension that would lock James up through the 2012-13 season. James is signed through next season, and can't become an unrestricted free agent until after the 2007-08 season.
The Cavaliers, who came within an offensive rebound of possibly making the Eastern Conference finals this season, are hoping James quickly agrees to the deal and signs it on July 12 when the league's moratorium ends.
All signs point to the talks with Rose being brief. However, the Cavaliers, burned by forward Carlos Boozer in free agency a few years back, won't relax until they have James' signature.
"We are confident we have done a good job as an organization and things are in a good direction," Ferry said. "But we take nothing for granted."