When Zydrunas Ilgauskas first arrived in Cleveland from Lithuania all he could think of was home. When it came to his first summer of free agency, all he could think of was Cleveland as home.

Ilgauskas signed a five-year, $53 million contract to remain with the Cavaliers on Tuesday.

Ilgauskas agreed to the deal back in July, but waited until now to sign it because it gave the Cavs salary-cap advantages when signing other free agents.

For the Cavs, it meant keeping a two-time All-Star who has been healthy for five years and is in the prime of his career. For Ilgauskas, it gave him long-term security and kept him in his American home.

``When push came to shove, I just had a hard time realizing being anywhere but in a Cavs uniform,'' Ilgauskas said at a news conference at Cub Cadet headquarters. ``It has become home to me and my family.''

When Ilgauskas left Gund Arena the day after last season ended, the vibes were strong that he'd played his last game with the Cavs. Things started to turn around when Mike Brown was hired as coach and told ownership he'd like to have Ilgauskas re-signed.

Then Danny Ferry, one of Ilgauskas' good friends, was hired as the general manager and he, too, wanted Z back.

``From Day One I wanted Z here,'' Brown said. ``He's going to be the anchor of our defense, an anchor of our offense.''