Cavaliers Trade For Antawn Jamison Is A Slam Dunk!

The Cavaliers completed their much awaited trade to improve their team even further for this season’s playoff push, but it was not for Amare Stoudemire as expected. Instead, the Cavs were able to work a deal for the player they have wanted for over a year…..Washington’s Antawn Jamison.

The former all-star power forward was acquired from the Wizards as part of a three team trade that will cost the Cavaliers Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and their first-round pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. In addition to acquiring Jamison, the Cavaliers will get Sebastian Telfair from the Clippers. Telfair entered the NBA as a first-round pick and has never truly developed into the star he was projected to be, and is presently out with a groin injury.
The two stories of this trade though are Jamison and Ilgauskas.

Jamison is a very productive player, who is averaging over 20 points and nine rebounds per game. Unlike Stoudemire, he is a threat to score from anywhere on the floor, and still have one more season left on his existing contract. He will give the Cavaliers arguably the best starting-five in the Eastern Conference, which will now have four either current or former all-star players (Mo Williams, Jamison, LeBron, and Shaq). The question will be how quickly Antawn can adapt to being a more complimentary player than “the guy” for a team. I am sure he will find it an easy adaptation though as his only focus prior to his planned retirement at the end of his contract, is to win a championship….something he had no chance of doing in Washington.

The tough part of this trade for Cavs fans will be the loss of Ilgauskas. “Z” has been with the Cavaliers for his entire career and with this season being the Cavaliers best chance at winning a championship, you can’t help but feel for him if he misses out. However, Z’s true value to the Wizards is his expiring contract and it’s very possible that the Wizards may negotiate a buyout with him and give him his release, after the NBA’s mandatory waiting period expires. NBA rules state that a player acquired via trade cannot be released or bought out until that player has been with the team for 30 days. So for Z and his fans, it will be 30 days of waiting to see if there is an opportunity for the big center to rejoin the team he had publicly stated he wanted to retire from when his career ended.

If Zydrunas does get back to Cleveland, the Cavaliers will have traded a late first-round draft pick for a player of Jamison’s caliber. That would be considered a “steal” by anyone who knows the NBA. Even if the Cavs don’t get Ilgauskas back, it still is a very good deal for the Cavaliers.

The landscape of the Eastern Conference….and really the NBA……changed today with this trade. The Cavaliers already have the best record in the NBA after the All Star break. Adding Antawn Jamison to a their team, will now make them a defensive nightmare for any opponent

Tags: Antawn Jamison, Zydrunas Iglauskas