Could it be that Cavaliers rookie Dajuan Wagner is shifting coach John Lucas' attention away from High School phenom Lebron James?

Despite his team currently being on a 14 game losing streak, coach Lucas is loving the fact that his star pupil is capturing the attention from people around the NBA.  Already his jersey is in the N.B.A. Store on Fifth Avenue, and he is loving the fact that reporters cannot get enough of the 6-2 phenom.

"All I say is, today is the first time since I've been in Cleveland that I had to hold the bus up for somebody doing interviews," Lucas said. "I like that. I like the idea that I went to the N.B.A. Store and Cleveland Wagner jerseys were in the store. That's what it's going to take for us to get out of this significant hole."

Wagner, however, is more upbeat.  He doesn't like the losing, and he knows the team needs to go through these growing pains to be successful.

"This is experience right now," Wagner said. "We just have to take it and learn from it."

Steve Popper of the New York Times writes that Wagner missed training camp and the first 14 games of the season due to a bladder infection and surgery to remove a blood clot in the tube between his left kidney and his bladder.  Despite the imperfect start Wagner has come on strong, including his 25 points and 10 assists last night against the Knicks, showing that he could very well be the best rookie in this years crop.  Lucas has never lost the faith.

"The other night, Allen Iverson catches him in a switch, grabs his shorts and holds him so he has to guard him," Lucas said. "Allen takes him to school. I said, `You see what he did?' He said with no fear, `I'll get him back.' That's something I don't see every day with these young guys."

"The day I saw Diop, I saw Dajuan, and I told him if he was there when I picked after he gets a year out of Memphis, I'm going to take him. He came in for his visit and he said, `Coach, you said you're going to take me.' He remembered and I remembered, and what I liked most about Juannie is his commitment to the game. He has a presence on the court."

"This guy missed 14 games, missed all of training camp, and everybody looked at me like I was crazy when I started him from Day 1, but those things have proven out. I think he has a chance to be special."