Lansing Twp. - Mateen Cleaves said his trade from Sacramento to Cleveland was nixed last week because of a previously undetected broken bone in his left foot.
Cleaves said the fracture doesn’t hurt and he didn’t even realize he was injured until X-rays came back from a Cleveland physical. The injury is similar to one he suffered in his right foot during his senior season at MSU, which kept him out more than two months. Like that injury, this one will require surgery to repair the fracture.
On the other hand, the break is unrelated to the heel injury that caused him to have surgery this summer.
Either way, the Cavaliers didn’t want to trade for damaged goods, so they killed the deal and got second-year forward Jumaine Jones back from Sacramento.
Now Cleaves is back to being the Kings’ third-string point guard and is still stationed on the West Coast, thousands of miles from his Flint home.
“It was like a roller-coaster this week,” Cleaves said Friday before signing autographs at the grand opening of the Eastwood Towne Center’s Sprint Store, 2959 Preyde Blvd. “I had to take the bitter with the sweet, you know? I was kinda sad to leave all my friends in Sacramento, but it was a good situation I was going to because of all the playing time I was going to get and coming back close to home.
“When the trade didn’t go through, I was a little down, but I got good support from my family and everyone around here, and I think everything’s going to work out.
“I’ll be back out there in a minute. It won’t take long.”
Cleaves, who started his professional career in Detroit before being traded to Sacramento prior to the 2001 season, said he would be receptive to being traded again. He is about to start the final season of his three-year, $4.1-million rookie contract and needs to get quality playing time this season to get leverage for a new deal.
But court minutes were hard to come by last season in Sacramento, where he sat behind point guards Mike Bibby and Bobby Jackson. Cleaves averaged 2.2 points and 0.8 assists in only 4.8 minutes a game last season. Although Bibby and Jackson are still with the Kings, Cleaves said he’s confident he can get playing time in Sacramento or elsewhere.
“I think I can, but the main thing right now is just getting healthy,” Cleaves said. “After that, I’ll just go from there. Trades, whatever happens, but the main thing is to be injury-free.”
Cleaves, 25, led the Spartans to a national championship in 2000 and holds MSU records for most assists in a game, season and career. He was a three-time All-American and two-time Big Ten Player of the Year.
“What I experienced in my four years in Lansing was unforgettable, so it’s always good to come back,” Cleaves said at the new shopping center.
About 30 fans waited in line to meet Cleaves on Friday. Among them was die-hard Spartan supporter Andy Szweida.
“I was on my way back from work and I just found out that the Mateen Cleaves was going to be here,” the Lansing Community College student said. “I figured, ‘Oh, heck, I better get down here and beat the crowd.’”
