Former Cavalier Jeff McInnis agreed to a two-year, $7 million deal with the New Jersey Nets on Thursday, an NBA insider confirmed.

The Cavaliers never considered re-signing the mercurial McInnis, but were in preliminary talks about sign-and-trade deals involving him. One target was Damon Jones, who opted out of his contract with the Miami Heat.

The Heat were interested in McInnis, which made the teams potential trading partners, but they weren't able to get anything done before the Nets swooped in and landed McInnis.

The team can still sign 3-point specialist Jones with their remaining salary-cap space, which is estimated to be around $3.5 million, but using a sign-and-trade would've removed that restraint.

The Miami Herald reported the Heat plan to work out Dajuan Wagner, another Cavaliers free agent not expected to re-sign. It is possible the two teams could attempt to get a sign-and-trade deal done involving Wagner and Jones.

According to several league insiders, the Cavaliers have had preliminary talks with unrestricted free-agent point guards Damon Jones and Earl Watson.

Watson likely won't be headed back to the Memphis Grizzlies, where he's been a backup. Jones is a 3-point specialist who opted out of his contract with the Miami Heat but hopes to return and has been in discussions with them.

The Cavaliers are finding it's no fun being stuck in the middle.

With no access to salary-cap exceptions and just $3.5 million remaining in salary-cap room from their once-mighty $28 million kitty, filling out the roster is going to prove challenging.

The club needs a starting point guard and a backup center, but doesn't appear to have the funds to do it without creativity.

The point guard-target remains Marko Jaric, who's oft-pushed back visit has now been slated for Wednesday. The Clippers' restricted free-agent guard is due to visit the Denver Nuggets today.

Also, the Cavaliers are interested with veteran center Dale Davis to become Zydrunas Ilgauskas' backup.

``The Cavaliers are interested in Dale and we've been talking,'' Chubby Wells, who represents Davis, said Monday. ``He's looking to contribute on a team that has a chance to grow and that fits.''

With Sarunas Jasikevicius committed to Indiana and Antonio Daniels pledged to Washington, the Jazz now are prepared to enter the fray for Los Angeles Clippers restricted free agent Marko Jaric.

They are not, however, alone ? nor are their hopes much beyond that of a long shot.

Jaric, a 26-year-combo guard from Belgrade who has played three NBA seasons for the Clippers, reportedly will visit Denver today and Cleveland on Wednesday.

The Jazz have not entertained Jaric yet but might soon.

All three suitors, however, are in a tough spot, since in this instance L.A. holds all the cards: Because Jaric is restricted, the Clippers can match any offer sheet he signs ? and seem inclined to do just that.

That in mind, the Jazz will continue to peruse the shrinking free-agency market and pursue potential trade opportunities.

"We've been talking to a lot of people," Jazz basketball operations senior vice president Kevin O'Connor said Monday night, "and we're going to continue to look and continue to decide what's best for us."

After losing out on Sarunas Jasikevicius to the Indiana Pacers, the Cavaliers are just to find a creative to land Los Angeles Clippers free agent point guard Marko Jaric.

With only $3.5 million in capspace at there disposal, general manager Danny Ferry will probably have to work out a sign and trade with the Clippers to obtain him.

``There are five or six teams still interested in Marko,'' Jaric's agent, Bill Duffy, said Sunday. ``He's still very interested in the Cavs.''

Jaric will visit with the Cavaliers on Tuesday.

Some possible trade bait options include Luke Jackson and Sasha Pavlovic.

If they are unable to land Jaric, Damon Stoudimire and Damon Jones are believed to also be on the Cavalier's wish list.

Sarunas Jasikevicius, widely considered the top point guard in Europe, signed a three-year, $12 million deal with the Pacers, his agent Doug Neustadt told ESPN.com.

Jasikevicius also had offers from the Jazz and Cavs, but decided to take less money and fewer minutes to have a shot at an NBA title.

"It really came down to who he could win a championship with next year," Neustadt told ESPN.com. "He saw a chance to contribute and win and couldn't pass it up."

The point guard, who played collegiately at Maryland from 1994-'98, most recently played for Maccabi Tel Aviv from 2003-2005 and F.C. Barcelona from 2000-2003.

The rumored Marko Jaric sign-and-trade involving the Cavaliers is fictional, a league source said.

The rumored deal had the Los Angeles Clippers signing Jaric and sending him to the Cavaliers, along with power forward Chris Wilcox, in exchange for power forward Drew Gooden.
The source said there's no truth to the rumor.

The Cavaliers are in the market for a point guard and are very interested in the 6-foot-7, 217-pound Jaric. They also don't have the necessary salary-cap space to sign Jaric, who wants a contract starting around $5 million a season. The only way to acquire Jaric would be a sign-and-trade.

Cavaliers forward Drew Gooden has been rumored to be on the block and yet again it appears he has been traded.

19 Actions News in Cleveland, Ohio reported on it's newscast on Friday night that Gooden might be traded to the Los Angeles Clippers with guard Marko Jaric being signed and traded to Cleveland along with prehaps forward Chris Wilcox being included in the deal.

If Gooden is indeed traded, the Clippers would be his 4th team in as many seasons.

With the added cap space from the Bonzi Wells three-way trade, reports are beginning to come in that Utah might be on the verge of agreeing to terms with Sarunas Jasikevicius of Maccabi Tel Aviv.  This conflicts with earlier reports that an agreement had been made between Jasikevicius and the Cavaliers.

?Utah?s offer is on the table right now and we?re still waiting on a decision from Sarunas," said his agent Doug Neustadt in a conversation on Friday evening with DraftExpress.com's Jonathan Givony.  

"He has three offers from the Jazz, Pacers and Cavaliers.  They are all three-year deals above the $10 million being reported.

"Utah already made us a fair offer and it's unrelated to the trade that just went down."

The Drew Gooden trade rumors have begun already this summer, as he appears to be an unwelcomed part of the club.

"Me being part of a trade rumor comes with the territory," Gooden said. "That's the way it has been for me every year. But I'm to the point where I don't worry about [a trade] anymore. I just know wherever I'm playing, I'm going to play hard and do whatever I have to do, and I want to do that in Cleveland."

If Gooden remains with the Cavs, he'll have the chance to play with a team that is expected to sign several more free agents.

"I haven't been thinking about trades," Gooden said. "I've been thinking about Donyell becoming a great outside threat for us and the great transition game we'll have with LeBron and Hughes. There's no reason why Hughes and LeBron shouldn't be 1-2 in steals in the league. Z returning is big for us because you don't want to play against him."