So the biggest deal in the NBA today seem to be whether Zydrunas Ilguaskas will return to the Cleveland Cavaliers after sitting out for thirty days.

After being traded from the Cavs to the Washington Wizards, as the primary piece of the puzzle to bring on Jamison alongside Lebron James, Ilguaskas has been bought out by the Washington Wizards. According to league rules, he is allowed to openly negotiate and sign with any team in the league (likely a competitor) or he can sit out for thirty days in order to rejoin his previous team, the Cavaliers.

The internet has seen millions of posts since this trade took place with speculation that the Wizards would buy out Ilguaskas and he would simply return to the Cavs. In my opinion, Cavs management is probably well aware of the rules, and if not, has heard the rumblings from around the internets, and knew that trading away the big 7’3″ center to fill a void in the roster wasn’t a big deal because they would simply resign him after a month vacation.

My problem with this, just like the rest of the GM’s and coaches in the league, is that who’s to say Cleveland didn’t agree with Ilgauskas prior to the trade that he would return to the team after being waved by the Wizards. Everyone know he wasn’t going to play a single game in Washington, and yet, the possibility of the Cavs giving away nothing for Jamison didn’t seem to be a problem.

Since Ilguaskas has been waived, yes, an entire two days, we have heard that teams such as the Denver Nuggets and Atlanta Hawks are extremely interested in his services. In fact, the Hawks have even reportedly made an offer to the veteran center.

I knew the rules heading into the trade, I knew what to expect, and yet, I was still angry about the way it turned out. As a Lakers fan, it would’ve been the equivalent of acquiring Pau Gasol and getting Marc Gasol back (not quite the same, Cavs still get the better deal).

Anyway, I realized that the entire league and blogosphere was angry about the situation (except for the Cavs fans, of course), and figured I would just let it go. BUT, not I have been angered even further.

As I was getting my daily fix of NBA news on RealGM, I stumbled upon the following: “He knows I would love for him to be back here. I want him to be back here, especially while we’re contending for a title,” LeBron James said. “He’s one of the main reasons why I want to win a title for this team.”

Suddenly, it struck me, I’ve got a rule change proposal! No, not a Jeff Van Gundy rule proposal where if a player makes a shot from half court at any time during the game, it automatically becomes a tie game, but a real rule. A rule to help make things just a bit more fair.

It’s been exactly one day since Ilguaskas has become a free agent. The rules currently state that he can join any team, but in order to join his previous team, in this case the Cavaliers, he must sit out for thirty days.

I propose the following: During that thirty day period, said player who was waived, is not allowed to communicate or negotiate with any players, management, owners or “sources” from his previous team. This also shall include members of his previous team reaching out to him, whether personally, or through the media.

Yes, I understand it is nearly impossible to enforce Lebron James from making a personal phone call to Ilgauskas and telling him to come back, but thats not different then a team making an under the table agreement with a player prior to a trade. How do we know Danny Ferry didn’t make the deal only because he already had an agreement with Ilguaskas that he would return after he was waived. After all, with Cleveland having all that momentum heading into the trade deadline, wouldn’t they want to bring back a key piece to their team?

What do you think? Is it possible to prevent that player from having any relations with his former team? Doesn’t it make more sense to give other teams an advantage? If a player decides he wants to risk sitting out for thirty days and his old team not wanting him, that’s his choice; but, at least with this rule, they can’t come to terms with their former team and agree to sit out thirty days knowing they are guaranteed a roster spot.