A couple of years ago, everyone was going nuts over Pau Gasol going to the Lakers for his brother Marc, a few other guys and couple of first round picks (one of them still to be used this summer).
But it turns out that Marc Gasol is a pretty good player and the deal wasn't a complete give-away.
But this Antawn Jamison deal is.
Cleveland is giving up an almost 35-year-old Zydrunas Ilgauskas, a first round pick, and the rights for some second round pick we'll never see for Jamison. Marc Gasol was a young big man with potential… so at least Memphis got something out of it.
Plus… big Z's agent has already said he's going to ask for a buyout… which would free him up to return to Cleveland (or wherever he wanted to go). The Wizards, unlike Memphis, are left with nothing but some cap space… and nothing to fill it with.
So the Cavs are giving up a guy who is clearly at the end of the road averaging 7 and 5 for an athletic forward who is dropping 20 and 9… and they might even get that first guy back.
A couple of draft picks for a guy who could drop 20+ if he needed to… who can slide in and fill whatever role you need him to… who has the demeanor that allows him to fit into a new situation and give his new team the best chance to succeed after a shakeup in the locker room.
Amare Stoudemire is a better player than Jamison… but he's not a better fit in Cleveland. The Cavs just locked up the #1 seed… and maybe the championship… with that move.
Jamison slides on into Cleveland the same way a stunt driver power slides into a parking spot. Everything is in line… and suddenly this guy comes in from out of nowhere. But despite the potential for a complete wreck, the end result will be everything falling in line.
The road to a championship is now all but guaranteed to go through Cleveland. It's a move that should scare everyone in the East.
Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images
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