The Cleveland Cavaliers have exercised the fourth-year contract option on guard/forward Sasha Pavlovic, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry announced today.

?Sasha is a talented young player,? said Ferry.  ?With continued hard work, Sasha can play an important part in our team?s future.?

Pavlovic?s extension keeps him under contract with the Cavaliers through the 2006-07 season.  Originally selected with the 19th overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz, Pavlovic was acquired by the Cavaliers from the Charlotte Bobcats on June 23, 2004 in exchange for a future first-round draft pick.  In 144 career games (23 starts), he has averaged 4.8 points and 1.6 rebounds in 13.9 minutes per game.

Cavaliers coach Mike Brown is still tight-lipped, but all signs point toward Eric Snow being the opening-night starter at point guard.

It was a battle that was supposed to be the focal point of training camp, but it didn't really turn out that way.

Snow and free-agent import Damon Jones both made it clear that they wanted to be the man at the start, but ended up having a very amicable competition.

As expected, Jones averaged more points and, after a cold start, warmed up from 3-point range. Snow, as expected, averaged more assists and fewer turnovers and played well on defense. He's taken a handful of charges and made a defensive stop on Allen Iverson that won the Cavs a preseason game.

Both started four games and played almost the same number of minutes.

Brown thinks defense first, which is why he's probably going to go with Snow to help set a defensive tone at the start of games. It also allows him to bring Jones and Donyell Marshall off the bench together, an excellent shooting tandem to change things.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have waived guard Kelenna Azubuike and centers Obinna Ekezie and Jahidi White.

Azubuike played in five preseason games with averages of 7.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 20.2 minutes per game. Ekezie averaged 3.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in 10.7 minutes per game in six preseason games. White played in three preseason games averaging 3.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 6.7 minutes per game.

The Cavaliers roster now stands at 15 players.

Rookie guard Filiberto Rivera was waived Thursday by the Cavaliers.

Free agent Rivera averaged 2.7 points and 1.3 assists in three games for the Cavs. The 6-foot-2 Rivera averaged 13.5 points and 7.2 assists as a senior at Texas-El Paso.

After a spirited practice yesterday at Quicken Loans Arena, James said something those fans have been waiting to hear since the All-Star swingman was sidelined Oct. 11 with what turned out to be a case of pleurisy.

''The way it feels right now, I'm ready to get out there with my teammates and see how it goes,'' James said.

That means James, barring any last-minute setbacks or rather-be-safe-than-sorry decision by coach Mike Brown, will return to action at 7 tonight when the Cavaliers host the Memphis Grizzlies in the fifth of their eight scheduled preseason games.

''I'm about 90 percent better than I was (last) Wednesday,'' James said, referring to the day he was admitted to The Cleveland Clinic after complaining of discomfort in his upper left chest.

LeBron James is looking to play in Wednesday?s exhibition game against the Memphis Grizzlies after being hospitalized for two days last week with pleurisy, a virus that caused severe pain in his chest. He practiced for the second straight day on Tuesday.

"I'm 90 percent better than I was last week, but I'm not where I want to be," he said. "But I'll get there."

"I want to get out there with my teammates and see how it goes," James said after practice. "I'll play as many minutes as I can or as many minutes as coach [Mike Brown] will allow me."

LeBron James was tired but happy to be back at practice Monday, less than one week after the Cleveland Cavaliers star was hospitalized for a virus.

The 20-year-old forward said he is taking antibiotics but feeling better daily. He participated in the entire three-hour practice but was listed as doubtful for Wednesday night's exhibition game against Memphis as a precaution by coach Mike Brown.

Team physicians initially thought James had a strained pectoral muscle, but tests revealed pleurisy, an inflammation of the thin layers of tissue covering the lungs and chest cavity.

"I know what a plural is," James joked. "But I've never heard of pleurisy."

Cavaliers All-Star forward LeBron James was released from the hospital Friday following a two-night stay because of a virus that caused severe pain in his chest.

James was hospitalized Wednesday for what the team initially called a strained pectoral muscle. But Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry said Friday that James came down with pleurisy, an inflammation of the thin layers of tissue covering the lungs and chest cavity.

James is being treated with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medication. He will miss the team's preseason home opener Friday night against Philadelphia.

James was admitted to the Cleveland Clinic on Wednesday after pain on the left side of his chest worsened after practice. He underwent a series of tests Thursday.

Cavaliers All-Star forward LeBron James has been hospitalized for tests on a strained chest muscle he doesn't know how he injured.

James was admitted to the Cleveland Clinic on Wednesday night as he continued to experience discomfort for what has been diagnosed by team doctors as a strained left pectoral muscle. The team didn't reveal James' hospital stay until Thursday when the 20-year-old did not practice with the Cavaliers.

Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry said all the preliminary testing done on James has been normal. Ferry hopes James can be released on Thursday. The Cavaliers have a home preseason game Friday night against Philadelphia.

James did not play in Cleveland's game Tuesday night in Pittsburgh because of the muscle strain. He was visibly wincing in pain during Wednesday's workout at Quicken Loans Arena, and afterward said he didn't know how he hurt his chest.

"I don't remember getting elbowed in the chest or pushed," said James, who scored 16 points in game Monday night against Washington. "It was something I never felt before."

LeBron James winced with pain at times during practice Wednesday, a day after he woke up with a strained chest muscle.

James sat out the Cleveland Cavaliers' exhibition game Tuesday night against Boston and is listed as questionable with a strained left pectoral muscle for Friday night's home exhibition game against Philadelphia.

He began experiencing pain Tuesday. But he was baffled about how he was injured in an exhibition game Monday night against Washington.

"I don't know where it came from," James said. "I don't remember getting elbowed in the chest. I woke up yesterday morning and it was hurting. It's something I've never felt before."

He said he wouldn't have been able to play Tuesday night even if it had been a regular-season game.

"I'm not 100% right now, but I'm getting there," he said.