Injuries force Ferry to add rookie guard
Oklahoma State product will fill in with Hughes, Newble, Jackson ailing
By Brian Windhorst
Beacon Journal sportswriter
CLEVELAND - Decimated by injuries at the wing position, the Cavaliers took action to thicken their ranks Monday.
The team signed rookie Stephen Graham to a 10-day contract shortly before it took on the Milwaukee Bucks. The former Oklahoma State player has had stints with the Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls this season.
Once the deepest spot on the team, the Cavs have lost three of their shooting guards/small forwards. Larry Hughes has been out for five weeks with a broken finger. Ira Newble has been out for a week with what the team has termed a facial abscess. It was learned Sunday that Luke Jackson had fractured his left wrist in Saturday's loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Jackson will have surgery soon and will then miss six to eight weeks, which will nearly knock him out for the rest of the regular season.
``It is very disappointing,'' Cavs coach Mike Brown said of the latest loss. ``We have a couple guys injured. It was a good time for Luke because he was going to get some minutes.''
Graham is the lessor known player in his family, his twin brother, Joey, was a first-round draft pick of the Toronto Raptors last summer. Stephen has bounced around trying to make an NBA team and had played nine games with the Bulls and Rockets, averaging 2.4 points and 1.1 rebounds.
The 6-foot-6 wing is known as a solid defender who can handle the ball a little but mostly relies on hustle. He worked out with the Cavs last month, and they saved his number.
``He's really worked on his shooting and is improved,'' Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry said. ``He'll be able to help us now with his athelticism and the way he plays hard.''
Graham had been playing with the Sioux Falls (S.D.) Sky Force of the CBA, where he averaged 21 points in 16 games. He didn't get the call from the Cavs until around midnight Sunday and hopped on a 6 a.m. flight to make it into town.
``I'm hoping this will be a good fit for me,'' Graham said. ``I'm optimistic. I'm going to do my best and hope I can stick.''
With all the injuries Graham might get some playing time, but Brown said he'll use Damon Jones more at shooting guard and Donyell Marshall some at small forward.
Gooden rumors swirl
Several media outlets reported that the Cavs and Bulls were in talks about a trade involving Drew Gooden on Monday. League insiders said the Cavs have made calls around the league to gauge Gooden's value but they are not in any active trade thoughts. Gooden, a restricted free agent at season's end, is the Cavs' most tradeable asset, and rumors will likely continue to emerge until the trade deadline later this month.
Newble still out
Newble spent a seventh night Monday in the Cleveland Clinic. Brown said he was improved, and that his fever had come down. He was suffering from a migraine headache, a bad tooth and an infection in his nose that has spread.
``They want to be very cautious, it came up all of the sudden,'' Brown said. ``They did not think he'd have to be in the hospital so many days.''
