Ferry looking foreign

**Kori Ellis** · 09-06-2005

Ferry looking foreign
Cavaliers import Brazilian point guard for workouts
By Brian Windhorst

Beacon Journal sports writer

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/12575903.htm

Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry was well schooled in the potential value in international talent when he was with the San Antonio Spurs. It is becoming clear that he intends to explore those possibilities with his new team.

Earlier this summer, Ferry made a serious pitch at getting 29-year-old Lithuanian point guard Sarunas Jasikevicius, a promising, but unproven player at the NBA level. Still searching for a point guard weeks later, Ferry has gone panning for gold again.

The Cavaliers flew in an intriguing Brazilian player for a look this week. Marcelo Machado, who was voted the Most Valuable Player of the FIBA Americas Championship in the Dominican Republic, was in for workouts Tuesday at Gund Arena.

Machado is hardly your average prospect. He's 30 years old and has been a known commodity in European and South America leagues for years.

He averaged 23.2 points in the 10 games of the tournament, which Brazil won, including a game in which he scored 42 points. He's a 6-foot-6 point guard and also is reputed to be an excellent shooter.

Four NBA teams showed interest in Machado after his performance, but it appears that if he is going to sign a contract with any team, the Cavaliers will have first crack.

``I thought the best place for him would be Cleveland because they are in need of a point guard,'' said Machado's American agent, Herb Rudoy, who also represents Cavaliers players Anderson Varejao and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. ``He's a great shooter, but none of us have an idea of how this is going to work out.''

The team has $3.5 million left to spend and still needs to sign a point guard and, at least, one big man.

White deal close?

Free-agent center Jahidi White might be close to signing a contract to be the Cavaliers' backup center.

White, a 6-foot-9 forward/center who averaged 2.5 points and 2.0 rebounds with the Charlotte Bobcats last season, visited the team last month. His agent, Chubby Wells, said Tuesday that he hopes to reach a deal with Ferry over the next couple of days. The Cavaliers have also spoken with free agent Calvin Booth about their backup center spot, but are facing compe ion from a number of other teams in signing him.

Second-rounder signs

Second-round draft pick Martynas Andriuskevicius has signed a two-year contract worth about $800,000 with the team. The signing was slightly delayed as Andriuskevicius had to complete a buyout with his European team, Zalgiris Kaunas. The 7-foot-2 19-year-old isn't expected to be a major contributor this season.

Stepp invited?

Two NBA insiders said the Cavaliers are likely to sign former Gonzaga star Blake Stepp to a non-guaranteed training camp contract. Stepp, a friend of Cavaliers shooting guard Luke Jackson, averaged 10.2 points and shot 50 percent on 3-pointers (11-of-22) while playing for the Cavaliers' summer-league team in July. He has been plagued by knee problems since his college days and even missed some summer-league practices due to a sore knee.

Several South American publications have also reported that the Cavaliers will invite former University of New Orleans star Hector Romero, a 6-foot-7 swingman from Venezuela who also excelled in the Dominican Republic, to training camp.