In past seasons, all the Cavs' guards, along with LeBron James, have gathered at this hoop after practice to goof around and talk trash while trying to throw the ball as high as possible before having it drop through the net. The last player to accomplish this feat has to do pushups equal to his number of misses.

But there were no games Thursday. No jokes. No trash talk. No pushups.

As assistant coach Mike Malone worked nearby with Anderson Varejao, J.J. Hickson and free agent Andre Barrett, West and Williams engaged in what looked to be a serious conversation before leaving the floor. Neither spoke to reporters afterward.

While the Cavs were pleased - and no doubt relieved - about West's return, no one shed much light on the personal problems that kept West away through the first four sessions. The Cavs have said the absences were unexcused, which likely means West will be fined.

It was just the latest in a rough stretch for the Cavs' troubled guard, who also faces a possible suspension by the league after being arrested near his home in Maryland and charged with carrying a concealed handgun.

Last season, West was excused from training camp for a time to receive treatment for what he called a mood disorder. He later said he was bipolar.

Monday at media day, he told reporters he was back on a regular routine that included taking his medication. Then he went AWOL for 48 hours until returning Thursday morning.

Cavs coach Mike Brown said West went through the entire practice with no restrictions, adding that he thought West would be available to play in Saturday's Wine and Gold Scrimmage at the University of Akron. Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry will address the situation then, according to a Cavs spokesman.

Meanwhile, some of West's newest teammates were looking forward to getting to know him and seeing how he - and they - fit into the scheme of things.

"Delonte came in and had a great practice today," said shooting guard Anthony Parker, who has been playing with the first team in West's absence. "He's definitely a big part of this team."

Shaquille O'Neal said he talked to West but declined to share the nature of their conversation.

"He's a vital part to this team," O'Neal said. "I watched him play last year, and he's a fabulous player. We're all in this together, so we support him and stick by him."

Tweet, tweet: O'Neal, a Twitter fan, said he had no problem with NBA Commissioner David Stern ruling that players cannot tweet during games or halftime, or for a certain amount of time before and after games.

"I think that rule is for those who used the service irresponsibly," he said Thursday.

But he's worth following at The-Real-Shaq. Wednesday Night, while raving about the lasagna at Lago, an Italian restaurant in Tremont, he invited fans to come see him and get free tickets to the first game.

Single-game tickets on sale: Single-game tickets for this season, starting at $10, will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Saturday. They can be purchased at the Quicken Loans Arena box office, at cavs.com or by calling the new charge-by-phone number: 1-888-894-9424. Tickets are no longer available through Ticketmaster.

He's No. 4: James has the fourth-most-popular jersey in Europe, based on sales from retail locations during last season. For the second straight year, the top four jerseys in sales belonged, in order, to Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics, Pau Gasol of the Lakers and James.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: mschmitt@plaind.com, 216-999-4668