Forward Sharrod Ford averaged 15.7 points and 10.4 rebounds in 2010-11 with Sutor Montegranaro in Italy.

The Erie BayHawks thought they had got the big man they had been scouting for a minute.

They’ll instead have to keep the player they needed to get the player they wanted.

Earlier today, a trade that sent forward Sharrod Ford to the expansion Canton Charge for forward Frank Hassell on Monday was voided because Hassell failed a team physical due to some problems with his right knee.

At Tuesday’s practice in Erie, Hassell said his knee had swollen as he had ice on it. Out of Old Dominion, Hassell said the ice was just a precaution. Turns out it was enough to stop the trade.

So Hassell, 23, returned to Canton where he was a fan favorite and Ford, 30, is with the BayHawks, who were looking to add size.

The BayHawks have been lacking size since 7-footer Chris Daniels left to play overseas in South Korea last month

When Erie got Ford out of the D-League player pool, coach Jay Larranaga had every intention of trading him because several D-League teams including Canton were interested in him.

Now they’ll play Thursday night at Fort Wayne with him. Ford, who has played overseas most of his pro career after playing at Clemson, was with the Phoenix Suns in 2005-06.

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The Erie BayHawks are hoping forward Frank Hassell (with ball) can give them a stronger inside presence./AP Photo.

On Monday, the Erie BayHawks added forward Frank Hassell, a 6-9, 246-pound power forward who averaged 10.1 points and 7.8 rebounds in 20 games for the expansion Canton Charge.

From Chesapeake, Va., Hassell had played overseas in Turkey before the San Antonio Spurs invited him to training camp. Hassell, who played at the same high school as former NBA All-Star Alonzo Mourning in Indian River, was the 2011 Colonial Athletic Association Tournament MVP while playing at Old Dominion.

The BayHawks got Hassell, 23, in a trade when they acquired Sharrod Ford out of the D-League player pool and traded him to Canton for Hassell. From Suitland, Md., Ford, 30, played for the Phoenix Suns in 2005-06 after playing college ball at Clemson.

Ford also played professional in Turkey, Russia and Italy. He averaged 15.8 points and 10.4 rebounds in 2010-11 with Sutor Montegranaro in Italy.

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Now this is a dunk over someone.

Not a thrown in.

Check out former Erie BayHawks forward Ivan Johnson dropping the hammer on Channing Frye for the Atlanta Hawks in their loss to the Phoenix Suns on Monday night.

Nasty.

Hard to imagine an undrafted player who has spent time in the D-League in his first two NBA seasons being the answer at point guard for the New York Knicks.

Then again, who would have thought they’d have a losing record at 10-15 with Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire and new addition Tyson Chandler.

So it shouldn’t be a surprise that Jeremy Lin has been a spark for the Knicks.

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Saturday, 2 p.m., Tullio Arena

ON THE AIR: WJET-AM/1400; www.nba.com/dleague
PLAYERS TO WATCH

Erie — PF Ivan Johnson (A 2011 D-League All-Star, Johnson leads the BayHawks in scoring at 20.7 points a game and 7.4 rebounds. Johnson is the only Erie player to play and start in every game this season.) … SF Tasmin Mitchell (In his last eight games, Mitchell has averaged 26.1 points as Erie’s sixth man off the bench.) … SG Garrett Temple (Has played two games with Erie since returning after two 10-day contracts with the Milwaukee Bucks. Had 25 points and 11 rebounds in Friday’s 132-110 win at Texas.)

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Erie's first-year coach, Jay Larranaga, has the BayHawks in playoff contention.

So far, so good for the Erie BayHawks.

With a new head coach, the Erie BayHawks are 17-9 heading into Friday’s game at Maine against the Red Claws (11-16).

Last season, Erie only won 21 games.

This season’s record is a bit skewed because the BayHawks are playing in the East Conference, which has only two teams with winning records, but they win at conference leader Iowa (19-7) on Christmas Day, 114-110 after losing to the Energy on a last-second shot on the road.

Jay Larranaga had never been a head coach in the states and his only head coaching experience was with the Irish National Team, but so far, he’s shown why Erie hired him to replace John Treloar, who left to become the Director of Player Personnel for the Phoenix Suns.

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The BayHawks will look to win their fourth straight game today against Maine at Tullio Arena.

Maine Red Claws (9-10) at Erie BayHawks (12-6)

Sunday, 2 p.m., Tullio Arena.
▀  On the air: WFNN-AM 1330; www.nba.com/dleague/

Players to watch
▀  Erie — PF Ivan Johnson (Leads team in scoring at 17.6 points a game. Johnson had a game-high 25 points in a 97-91 win against Sioux Falls on Friday night. … C Solomon Alabi (A rookie with the Toronto Raptors, Alabi had eight points, six rebounds, four fouls and three blocks in 14 minutes, 51 seconds. It’s the least amount of playing time he’s had in his eight games with Erie. … SG Kyle Spain (Heading into Saturday’s games, he was eighth in the D-League in 3-point shooting at 48.7 percent – 19-of-39. The seven players ahead of him had attempted a combined total of 35 three-pointers before Saturday’ s games.

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Does the name ring a bell? It should.

The Erie BayHawks drafted the former Indiana University sharpshooter in the 2009 D-League Draft. Wilmont had a team-high 23 points in a preseason win against Fort Wayne, but the BayHawks, coached by John Treloar at the time, waived him and guard Oliver Lafayette on the last day of camp.

Treloar and Erie assistant Ben McDonald were an assistants at Indiana when Wilmont, 27, was there. While Lafayette, who played for Erie in its expansion season in 2008-09, had big scoring games against the BayHawks, Wilmont contributed as well to Fort Wayne getting the best of Erie last season.

Now do you remember?

Well, Treloar is the director of player personnel in Phoenix, Lafeyette is playing overseas, but Wilmont is back in Fort Wayne and is simply on fire right now heading into today’s game against Erie.

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Former Erie BayHawks point guard Cedric Jackson is one of five training camp invites for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who open training camp today at Cleveland Clinic Courts in Independence, Ohio. Jackson played college ball at Cleveland State.

This is a step up for Cedric Jackson.

A year ago, he was a rookie point guard in training camp with the Erie BayHawks in the D-League. Now he’s a camp invite for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who open training camp Monday.

Then again, Jackson has NBA talent and should on an NBA roster already. Last season, he got NBA call ups from three different teams including the Cavs, who are an NBA affiliate of the BayHawks.

Now the last team to call Jackson up was the Washington Wizards, who signed him for the rest of the season in the spring of last year. So you might wonder, well, why isn’t he starting camp with the Wizards.

Well, my man Michael Lee of the Washington Post, let us know what happened earlier this summer on his blog.

The team rescinded a qualifying offer for Cedric Jackson last week, making him an unrestricted free agency.

The question is why did this happen.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers will their summer league roster began playing in the Las Vegas Summer League beginning Tuesday. Going into his third season with Cleveland, power forward J.J. Hickson is scheduled to play as is forward Danny Green, who just finished his rookie season with the Cavaliers. 

The Cavaliers 2009 first-round pick, forward Christian Eyenga of the Congo, is also listed on the roster. The 6-foot-5 Eyenga didn’t play last season after deciding to remain overseas and play. 

The team also has some familiar names like Rashard McCants, who starred on the 2004 national championship for North Carolina and rookies Jerome Dyson of Connecticut and Manny Harris of Michigan.

Erie BayHawks coach John Treloar is also working as an assistant for the Cavaliers, who are an NBA affiliate of the BayHawks along with the Toronto Raptors.

 Two things to notice about the schedule is the Cavaliers play against the Miami Heat, who LeBron James chose to sign with instead of the Cavaliers earlier this week, and the Milwaukee Bucks, who have Darnell Jackson, a player Cleveland let go this past season. Jackson is scheduled to play for the Bucks this summer.

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