USA - James to sign extension with Cavaliers

NEW YORK (NBA) - Team USA's LeBron James is giving a thumbs-up to a five-year contract put on the table by the Cleveland Cavaliers. The deal, which will kick in after the 2006-07 campaign, is understood to be worth approximately $80million.

James, 21, will not officially sign the deal until next Wednesday, when the NBA's moratorium on new contracts ends.

"I am very excited and happy to be re-signing with the Cavaliers," James said in a statement.

"Staying in Cleveland near my hometown of Akron provides me with the unique opportunity to continue to play in front of my family, friends and fans."

James, who will be headed to Japan for the FIBA World Championship which tips off in August, is a two-time All-Star and perhaps the brightest young superstar in the NBA.

He averaged 31.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.6 assists this past season.

The electric 6ft 8in swingman spearheaded Cleveland to their first post-season appearance since 1998 and nearly led the Cavs past the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

But James delayed the announcement of his decision to remain in Cleveland, leading to speculation the former number one draft pick would bolt for a larger media market like Chicago or New York.

However, James opted to stay with the Cavs, a vastly improved franchise under owner Dan Gilbert.

General manager Danny Ferry and the rest of the organisation clearly made an effort last off-season to build a team around James. Ferry re-signed center Zydrunas Ilgauskas and brought in free agents Larry Hughes, Donyell Marshall and Damon Jones.

"I look forward to working toward bringing a championship to our great fans and the city of Cleveland," James said.

"I'd like to thank my coaches and team-mates as well as the entire Cavalier organisation for their hard work, encouragement and support."

Redick pens deal with Magic

Sweet-shooting guard JJ Redick, who won a handful of collegiate player of the year awards last season and is in Team USA's 23-man preliminary squad for the FIBA World Championship, signed a two-year contract with the Orlando Magic on Friday.

Terms were not disclosed, but under the rookie salary scale, Redick will receive $3.2 million for two years.  The Magic hold options for the third and fourth years.

A year ago, Orlando drafted forward Fran Vazquez 11th overall, then watched him sign a multi-year deal to remain in Spain. This year, the Magic locked up Redick, also the 11th pick.

The 6ft 4in, 190-pound Redick was the Wooden and Naismith Player of the Year as a senior at Duke, capping an outstanding career by becoming the NCAA's all-time leader with 457 3-pointers. He also finished second in history in free-throw percentage (.912).

A two-time Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year and the league's all-time leading scorer, Redick was discovered last month to have a herniated disk that he said does not need surgery.

Redick will have to get used to playing mostly off the basketball and not having the ball in his hands to begin the offensive sets as he became accustomed to at Duke. 

He will be tested constantly as a rookie to see what type of man-to-man defense he can play against athletic shooting guards.

However, he should find minutes right away. Orlando's options at shooting guard are Keyon Dooling and DeShawn Stevenson, who is a free agent.

By PA Sport