The Cleveland Cavaliers will play an eight-game preseason schedule in preparation for the 2008-09 NBA regular season, including two games against the NBA Champion Boston Celtics.  Cavaliers’ fans throughout the region will be able to see the team in person as the Cavaliers will play three great games at Quicken Loans Arena during the preseason in addition to hosting neutral site games in Pittsburgh, PA, and Columbus, OH.

Cleveland will open the preseason at The Q against Jermaine O’Neal, U.S.A. Olympian Chris Bosh and the Toronto Raptors on Oct. 7 at 7:00 p.m.  The Cavaliers will then travel to Providence, RI for a matchup with the Celtics on Oct. 10 at 7:30 p.m. and face off in a rematch on Oct. 14 at 7:30 p.m. in Pittsburgh, PA. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker visit The Q on Oct. 16 at 7:00 p.m. as the Cavaliers host the San Antonio Spurs before taking on Elton Brand and the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at The Q.  The Cavaliers then travel to Philadelphia on Oct. 21 at 7:00 p.m. Cleveland’s final road preseason game will be at The Palace of Auburn Hills against the Pistons on Oct. 22 at 7:30 p.m. The preseason concludes in Columbus, OH at The Ohio State University’s Schottenstein Center against Gilbert Arenas and the Washington Wizards on Oct. 24 at 7:30 p.m. The entire preseason schedule is listed below.

All games will be broadcast live on WTAM 1100 and the Cavaliers radio network with Joe Tait calling the action for all eight contests.

Tickets sales information for Cavaliers home games, including Pittsburgh and Columbus will be announced at a later date.

2008-09 PRESEASON SCHEDULE

 DATE                                   OPPONENT               LOCATIONS                                           TIME

Tuesday, Oct. 7                       Toronto Raptors            Quicken Loans Arena                                  7:00 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 10                         at Boston Celtics           Providence, RI (Dunkin Donuts Center)        7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 14                     Boston Celtics               Pittsburgh, PA (Petersen Events Center)*    7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 16                    San Antonio                  Quicken Loans Arena                                  7:00 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 18                     Philadelphia 76ers          Quicken Loans Arena                                  7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 21                     at Philadelphia 76ers      Wachovia Center                                        7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 22                 at Detroit Pistons           Palace of Auburn Hills                                 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 24                         Washington Wizards      Columbus, OH (Schottenstein Center)*         7:30 p.m.

* Denotes Cavaliers home game at neutral site

MILWAUKEE -- The Cleveland Cavaliers are getting some help for LeBron James.

With James in Beijing for the Olympics, high-scoring Milwaukee point guard Mo Williams is headed to Cleveland as part of a three-team trade that also involves Oklahoma City.

The six-player deal completed Wednesday reshapes the rebuilding Bucks while giving Cleveland an additional scoring threat and Oklahoma City an instant fan favorite in Desmond Mason in the first year of the franchise's move from Seattle.

In exchange for Williams, who averaged 17.2 points per game last season in the first year of a six-year, $51.5 million contract, the Bucks receive Damon Jones from Cleveland along with guard Luke Ridnour and forward Adrian Griffin from Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma City gets Mason from Milwaukee and former No. 1 pick Joe Smith from Cleveland.

The Cavs have long sought a scorer to take pressure off James, who led the NBA last season with a 30.0 scoring average.

James' lack of help was particularly noticeable in Cleveland's Game 7 loss to Boston in the Eastern Conference semifinals when he scored 45 of the Cavs' 92 points.

"Mo has the ability to space the floor. He's shown himself to be a good shooter," Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry said. "I like him. He's a competitive player that can make big shots and one of those guys that is capable of rising to important times and obviously we want to be playing in those times."

Ferry said the team let James know of the deal even though he's on the other side of the world.

"We've communicated with most of the team," Ferry said. "All these guys are very excited. They respect Mo as a player, and they're looking forward to playing with him."

Larry Hughes was supposed to be James' sidekick, but couldn't fulfill the role and was sent to Chicago last year at the trade deadline in a 10-player deal.

Cleveland also has been searching for years for a point guard, and considered trades in the past for Mike Bibby and Jason Kidd, but never made one. Williams could be that big trade, Ferry said.

"I think this is a move to be able to get a talented, young, 25-year-old point guard that can be part of the future," said Ferry, who added that restricted free agent Delonte West remains in the team's plans even with the trade.

The deal was previously reported by ESPN.com and media outlets in all three markets.

Ridnour, who averaged 6.4 points and four assists last season as the backup to Earl Watson in Seattle, had faced decreased playing time in Oklahoma City after the franchise drafted point guard Russell Westbrook with the fourth pick.

Bucks general manager John Hammond said he can envision Ridnour thriving in Milwaukee.

"His most productive days in the NBA were just a few short years ago when he had Ray Allen on one wing and Rashard Lewis on the other wing," Hammond said. "Here, you say you have Michael Redd on one wing and Richard Jefferson on another wing, you're putting Luke Ridnour in the best possible position to be successful again as he has been in the past."

Mason played in college at Oklahoma State and spent time with the Hornets franchise in Oklahoma City when it was relocated after Hurricane Katrina.

"We're excited," said Mason's agent, Roger Montgomery. "He's been to Oklahoma City, he's familiar with the people there, he's familiar with the Ford Center, he's played there, the fans loved him when he was there. His nickname is the Cowboy. It's really apropos to come back."

Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti sees the basketball benefits.

"We understand that it's a unique opportunity here specifically but we've got to do the best thing for our basketball team, and we feel like the best thing for our basketball team is to add some toughness and some intangibles defensively for us at that position," Presti said. "It just seemed like the right fit for us."

For the Bucks, it's the next step in an offseason facelift by Hammond. Milwaukee fired coach Larry Krystkowiak after going 26-56 last season and replaced him with Scott Skiles.

The Bucks then sent Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons to New Jersey in exchange for Jefferson on draft night and added forward Joe Alexander with the eighth pick.

Milwaukee also signed guard Tyronn Lue and forward Malik Allen in an effort to bolster what has been one of the league's worst defenses.

Griffin averaged 1.9 points in minimal playing time after going to Seattle from Chicago in a midseason trade.

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AP Sports Writers Chris Jenkins in Milwaukee, Jeff Latzke in Oklahoma City and Associated Press Writer Joe Milicia in Cleveland contributed to this report.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

Associated Press

CLEVELAND -- The Cavaliers finally made a move this offseason, signing sharpshooter Daniel Gibson to a five-year contract Wednesday.

Bringing back Gibson, a restricted free agent, was one of Cleveland's top priorities. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The guard averaged a career-high 10.4 points on 43 percent shooting last season. He sprained his left ankle in a Feb. 20 game at Indiana and missed 18 games.

Gibson, a popular player known by the nickname "Boobie," had arthroscopic surgery last month on the ankle. He's already back to playing basketball and is expected to be ready for training camp.

"He's got a great smile on the court. He can shoot the heck out of the ball and bring energy to our group because guys just love playing with him," Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry said.

Aside from signing first-round draft pick J.J. Hickson last week, the Cavs have been quiet this offseason. Ferry hasn't been active in free agency because the Cavaliers are over the salary cap.

Ferry said the team has been talking to free agents and considering trades.

"We will continue to explore every way we possibly can to get better and give ourselves the best chance and the best window to win a championship this year and to have sustainable success," Ferry said.

The Cavaliers do have two exceptions ($5.5 million midlevel and $1.8 million biannual) to improve their talent and have shown interest in Boston forward James Posey.

Ferry also must decide on guard Delonte West, a restricted free agent, who was acquired in an 11-player deal at the trading deadline last season and showed signs that he could be the traditional point guard the Cavaliers have needed.

"We like what we saw from Delonte last year," Ferry said. "We think he and the team will benefit from having an offseason together. So hopefully, we can get moving forward with his contract negotiation as well."

The pressure on Ferry, owner Dan Gilbert and coach Mike Brown to win an NBA title is mounting with superstar LeBron James eligible for free agency following the 2010 season. That's two years away, but there's already rampant media speculation about James leaving for New York or elsewhere, and the talk isn't likely to subside.

By re-signing Gibson, the Cavaliers brought back their most consistent outside shooting threat. They're also ahead of where they were last year when restricted free agents Sasha Pavlovic and Anderson Varejao held out all summer before resigning.

Gibson was fifth in the NBA last season in 3-point shooting at 44 percent. He was named MVP of the All-Star Rookie/Sophomore game in New Orleans when he made a record 11 3-pointers.

The Cavaliers are in need of a second scorer to take some pressure off James. Gibson has filled that role at times but not consistently.

"I feel like as time goes on I'll continue to improve and my role will continue to increase and develop," Gibson said.

Gibson missed the final two games of Cleveland's playoff series against Boston with a separated shoulder. Gibson, whose scoring was key to the Cavaliers win over Detroit in the Eastern Conference finals to reach their first NBA finals in 2007, says missing Game 7 of the Boston series still haunts him.

"I've had a lot of sleepless nights just wondering where I could have helped the team," Gibson said.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

CLEVELAND – The Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired the draft rights to forward Darnell Jackson from the Miami Heat in exchange for the lower of the Cavaliers two second round picks in the 2009 NBA Draft.  In addition, Cleveland purchased the rights to center Sasha Kaun from the Seattle SuperSonics.

Jackson was selected with the 52^nd overall pick by the Miami Heat while Kaun was selected with the 56^th overall pick by the Seattle Sonics.  

Both Jackson and Kaun were four-year members of the Jayhawks and helped lead Kansas to the

2008 NCAA Championship and four straight Big 12 regular season titles.

Jackson (6-foot-8, 250 lbs.), 22, was named to the All-Big 12 Third Team as a senior as he averaged 11.2 points on .626 shooting and a team-high 6.7 rebounds in 40 games (35 starts).  He grabbed 10 or more rebounds in 15 games and tallied double figures in scoring in 24 games. 

Kaun (6-foot-11, 250 lbs.), 23, was named to the Big 12 All-Reserve Team as a senior.  He played in 40 games (six starts) and averaged 7.1 points on .619 shooting, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 17.7 minutes per game.