R.S. De France is a College and University instructor of English Composition. He has a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Rhetoric, Composition, and Writing. One of his life-long pursuits has been writing and covering anything related to sports, specifically the NBA. Recently, De France, his wife, and another colleague started an internationally read magazine at Shwibly.com.
Beyond the possible gun charges for Gilbert “Doc Holiday” Arenas and, now, Javaris Crittenton, the Washington Wizards will be most affected by this whole gun incident. Due to Arenas’ behavior Basketball Commissioner David Stern has suspended him indefinitely, and this will likely lead to the Wizards trying to terminate his $111 million dollars contract that has $78 million remaining. Under a morals clause, this might be possible.
That is only the beginning. This incident has sped up a process that seemed inevitably anyway. Currently, the Wizards’ record is 12-23. Last year, they finished 19-63 So, it only seemed like a matter of time before they (sorry Wizards fans) blew the team up. They had/have Arenas, Caron Butler, and Antawn Jamison—3 all-star level players. Now, we do not know what Arenas’ future holds, so now they really only have 2. According to recent rumors, the Wizards are shopping Butler and Jamison.
What seems to be the most exciting potential trade is the Jamison might end up playing for the Wizards’ rivals the Cleveland Cavaliers. In a payroll dump by the Wizards, they would exchange Jamison for Zyldrunas Ilguaskas.
Mainly, this helps the Wizards in the future, and helps the Cavaliers now. With Ilguaskas about to retire, this opens the Wizards up financially as early as next season. This season, however, this trade could enhance the already powerful Cavaliers. The Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Cavaliers, with the Orlando Magic and the Dallas Mavericks right behind them, are all vying for the top record in the league. Could this move make the Cavs the best team in the league? Maybe. I think it puts the Lakers, Celtics, and Cavaliers in almost a dead-heat.
After this potential trade, the Wizards would be diminished:
C Zydrunas Ilguakas
PF Brendan Haywood
SF Caron Butler (but for how long?)
SG Mike Miller
PG Randy Foye
After this potential trade, the Cavaliers would be much improved:
C Shaquille O’Neil
PF Anderson Varejao
SF Antawn Jamison
SG Lebron James
PG Mo Williams
Think about how Jamison could help the Cavs. For his career, he averages 20 ppg and 8 rpg. This season he is having another great season averaging 21.6 ppg and 8.3 rpg. In addition, Jamison is shooting better this season. This season he is averaging his best field goal percentage in six years; he’s also averaging his best 3-point percentage in four years. Although Jamison’s last three years have not been his personal best, these 3 years have been his best consistent effort of his career, including a career high 10.2 in rebounds.
Here’s a good highlight mix featuring Jamison’s inside/outside game:
Their options are numerous: they could add him to their starting lineup. Or, they could have him come off the bench, which would give the Cavs as potent a leader off the bench as Manu Ginobli in San Antonio, Rasheed Wallace in Boston and Lamar Odom in Los Angeles. If they want to compete with the Lakers and Celtics, they might want to use Jamison as a sixth man in order to enhance their bench-play.
The downside is that Jamison is 33 yrs old. He’s a healthy 33, though, having only played less than 79 games in 1 season since 2005. Also, he is averaging the most turnovers since 2004-2005. The other downside is that Jamison has never been a great defender. For his career, he averages 1.0 spg, 0.4 bpg.
Despite his downside, Jamison would make the Cavs a much better team, just scary enough to frighten the other teams at the top.
