The Cavs add Jamison and lose Z. Why?

All the different articles on the Cavs trade. I don't understand why they did this, but who am I to question them. I thought the chemistry was great and they have the best record, so why chance that and get rid of your cornerstone to do it. Jamison is in the building, but physicals have to be passed first in oder for him to play tonight vs the Nuggets.



The Cleveland Cavaliers have become title favorites Wednesday after acquiring two-time All-Star Antawn Jamison for -- potentially -- very little.
www.si.com
The three-team deal sends Jamison and Sebastian Telfair to the Cavaliers, Drew Gooden to the Clippers, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Al Thornton, Brian Skinner and Cleveland's first-round pick to Washington. The Wizards also get the rights to Slovenian forward Emir Preldzic from Cleveland. Note that the Cavs didn't have to surrender young forward J.J. Hickson in the deal.
Now watch for news of an expected buyout by Washington of Ilgauskas, which would enable the 7-foot-3 center to return to Cleveland after 30 days to come off the bench and match up with the Lakers in the NBA Finals.
Jamison was warming up with his Wizards teammates Wednesday before their game in Washington against the Timberwolves when he was pulled off the court and informed of the trade.
Two things stand out about this trade. First was that Cleveland was in the driver's seat -- the Cavs and the Mavericks being the only contenders willing to take on longterm contracts -- and that general manager Danny Ferry executed the turns perfectly. He was able to leverage interest in Phoenix's Amar'e Stoudemire in order to drive down the price on Jamison, who was viewed by many rivals as the best possible fit for Cleveland.
Second is that this trade, more than anything, is proof that the current collective bargaining agreement is broken and badly in need of overhaul. If the team with the best record can acquire a no-nonsense star like Jamison and then retrieve an asset like Ilgauskas, something is seriously wrong with the system. No one can say there is anything dirty about an Ilgauskas buyout either, because it is in the best interests of the Wizards to pursue such an agreement to limbo themselves under the luxury tax, and Ilgauskas may well decide it is his ambition to return home to Cleveland in order to avoid disrupting his young family. The current CBA has essentially leveraged this deal, with Ferry knowing how to manipulate it in his team's favor.
So now LeBron James can look around at a frontcourt of Shaquille O'Neal, who was an All-Star last year, and Jamison, an All-Star two years ago who is putting up 20.8 points and 8.8 rebounds this season and whose three-point range will space the floor for Shaq and LeBron and whose maturity will only enhance the Cavs' lockerroom. In the backcourt is point guard Mo Williams, an All-Star last year, and coming off the bench may yet be Ilgauskas, a two-time All-Star himself.
No one can say any longer there isn't star power around LeBron. Perhaps this confluence of talent will help influence his decision as a free agent in July?
As for the Wizards, this deal isn't a bad move for them in this oppressive market. They wind up receiving the first-round pick of the Cavs and Al Thornton as a promising young player from the Clippers -- comparable to what Phoenix was proposed by Cleveland for Stoudemire, when the Cavs were said to be offering their No. 1 and Hickson. After they unloaded Caron Butler last week to Dallas, the Wizards were on the path of no return and the departure of the large salary of Jamison, a 33 year old who is owed $28.5 million over the next two full seasons, puts Washington on the fast-track to rebuild their roster for likely new owner Ted Leonsis.
The Clippers gain the expiring $4.5 million salary of Gooden, who -- if he isn't bought out to return to Dallas -- will serve as a short-term frontcourt replacement for the departed Marcus Camby following his trade to Portland.




Cavs Get Jamison, but lose Z
www.espn.com
WHY!!!!!!!
Cleveland, Washington and the Los Angeles Clippers pulled off a three-team deal on Wednesday that sends Antawn Jamison to the Cavaliers as LeBron James' new sidekick, instead of Amare Stoudemire.
Cleveland sends Zydrunas Ilgauskas and his expiring $11.5 million contract to Washington. Washington also gets a 2010 first-round draft pick from Cleveland along with the rights to Emir Preldzic, who was selected in the second round of last year's draft.
ESPN NBA analyst Jalen Rose explains why Cavs fans should be ecstatic about the acquisition of Antawn Jamison instead of Amare Stoudemire right now. In the short term, Jamison is a better fit but Stoudemire would have been better for the long term.
"Antawn is a great pro. We are very excited to have an experienced all-star player of Antawn's caliber and character join us," Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry said in a statement announcing the trade. "He has the ability to add a special, unique dimension to our team with a strong inside presence and the ability to stretch teams defensively, while impacting the entire court. We think he matches the culture we have built, and continue to build, and will fit well with our group on the court and off."
Jamison left the arena shortly before the Wizards game on Wednesday. As he entered his car, all he had to say to reporters was: "Not now."
He did have a message for Wizards' fans. "You know I love them more than they love me."
"Antawn Jamison has been the embodiment of leadership on and off the court for this franchise for five-and-a-half seasons and we thank him for all he has done for the Wizards and the city of Washington," said Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld. "Unfortunately, our on-court results have not met our expectations and we felt it was necessary to make changes to improve our future and our financial flexibility. This trade accomplished both of those objectives."
After long-running trade talks with Washington and Phoenix, Cleveland opted for the Jamison deal, leaving the Miami Heat as the only known suitor for Stoudemire in advance of Thursday's 3 p.m. ET trading deadline.
The Cavs have been chasing Jamison since last season and ultimately preferred this trade in part because they did not have to surrender blossoming young forward J.J. Hickson. The Suns were demanding Hickson along with Ilgauskas' expiring salary for Stoudemire.
Washington relented on its insistence for Hickson because the trade brings more deck-clearing payroll and luxury-tax relief after last week's deal with Dallas that sent Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson to Dallas.
Jamison should immediately step in at power forward for Cleveland and supply James with another legitimate scoring option as the Cavaliers' seek their first championship. Jamison is still owed $28 million over the next two seasons.
Jamison was extremely popular not only with fans, but also with his teammates and the late owner Abe Pollin. After Gilbert Arenas was suspended indefinitely early last month, Jamison was the one who was chosen to speak to the crowd before the Jan. 8 game. He apologized for a skit that pantomimed shooting guns, calling it: "very embarrassing."
"He's one of the most professional guys I've ever been around," Saunders said.
Gooden was reportedly seeking a buyout. Unlike his three former Mavericks teammates, he did not practice with the Wizards on Tuesday, but was at shootaround Wednesday morning. He was listed as inactive.
"Basically, we started looking at opportunities to clear cap space for this summer and in the meantime acquire assets that we also liked," Clippers general manager Mike Dunleavy said. "In the last two days, we were able to do that. And it gives us the flexibility to pretty much go in a lot of different directions."
Jamison was an All-Star in both 2005 and 2008, and averaged 20.5 points in 41 games. He missed the first nine games of this season with a sprained right shoulder.
The 33-year-old played his first five seasons with Golden State and after playing the 2003-04 season with Dallas, was traded to Washington. Jamison has a career average of 19.9 points.
Ilgauskas, who is 34, has played his entire 12-year NBA career with the Cavaliers. He was supplanted as the starting center by Shaquille O'Neal this season. He's averaging 7.5 points and 5.3 rebounds this season. His career averages are 13.9 points and 7.7 rebounds.
"Z has been a cornerstone part of this franchise and his jersey will hang in the rafters here some day, not only because of his play, but because of the tremendous person he is and what he has meant to the franchise and the community," Ferry said. "He has represented the Cavaliers, Cleveland and the NBA at a consistently high level for many years. We wish Z and his family the best."
Ilgauskas' agent, Herb Rudoy, told the (Cleveland) Plain Dealer that he would work quickly to get a buyout from Washington. That would free up Ilgauskas to sign with another team -- including re-signing with the Cavaliers, although he'd have to wait 30 days to return to Cleveland.
"I've already heard from a few teams -- good teams -- that are really interested in wanting to talk about Z going to play for them," Rudoy told the paper.
A source told ESPNDallas.com's Tim MacMahon on Wednesday that one of those teams is the Dallas Mavericks, who lost Erick Dampier to a finger injury.
James can become a free agent this summer, leaving this as Cleveland's final shot at a championship before he decides to stay or go. The Cavaliers also had the league's best record last season, when they failed to reach the NBA finals.
Maybe Jamison can help them take that next step.
The 6-foot-7 Thornton has averaged 13.7 in his three-year career with the Clippers.
Telfair, who's 24, will be playing for his fourth team. The former first-round pick has averaged 7.9 points in his career.

Shaq to the Suns? What?

Shaq says he is very upset and ready to prove his critics wrong. The Phoenix Suns should be upset. Steve Nash now has to listen to the diesel complaign about not getting the ball and having to play defense. Plus, to give up an all-star in Shaun Marion for the over the hill center? If I am a Sun I am very disappointed in Steve Kerr in what has transpired over the last few days. Sure they are going to say all the right things about Shaq coming to the team, but behind closed doors, I am sure they are wondering what in the world is happening.

Check out this article from http://espn.com/ Marc Stein

PHOENIX -- Shaquille O'Neal's introductory news conference as a member of the Phoenix Suns -- you'll still probably need to reread that line a few times to believe it -- isn't until Thursday morning.
Yet we can fill the void by passing along Five Things You Don't Know about the Suns' stunning trade for Shaq, all of which were gleaned here Wednesday when this gargantuan transaction was officially completed … and completely overshadowed one of the greatest games you could ever wish to see. (Or so we're told).
1. The Suns pulled the trigger because of Steve Nash far more than Pau Gasol.
Nash turns 34 on Thursday. There will be no alarm bells sounded in Phoenix to commemorate the occasion, because Nash has hushed pretty much every doubt about his durability by playing at an MVP level for the past three-plus seasons, but his bosses are realistic. They know that a team relying heavily on Nash and Grant Hill will have only a couple more cracks at the championship that has eluded this franchise for four decades.
"We've got a few years here," Suns president Steve Kerr acknowledged, "where we can really make a push."
So …
The trade might look like a direct reaction to the Lakers' grand theft of Gasol from Memphis, but the Suns knew long before that heist that defending the post and surrendering second-chance points has been their downfall in the playoffs. This decision was made largely because Phoenix decided that it could no longer wait to change a locker-room dynamic that Nash has openly questioned at times, especially when a morale-booster like Shaq suddenly became available.
Nash spoke in glowing terms of Shawn Marion after the deal was announced -- "I'm a big fan of Shawn's," he said -- and has never specifically mentioned names when lamenting the Suns' occasional dips in togetherness and effort. But knowledgeable sources say that the Suns' power brokers, feeding off Nash's growing frustration and exasperation, lost confidence in the group's ability to win it all without some sort of shake-up. They stopped believing that the Suns' pre-Shaq core could overcome the behind-the-scenes negativity that typically involved either Marion or Amare Stoudemire without trading one of them away.
Now that it's finally happened? The giddy Suns instantly gave off a vibe Wednesday that O'Neal's impact on team morale might be as big as anything he'll provide on the floor, even in the unlikely event he winds up being the interior defensive force they've dreamed about. It's the sort of Shaq Effect that never would have been possible had Marion been moved in a more conservative swap for, say, Utah's Andrei Kirilenko, as the Suns and Jazz discussed early in the season.
"I just think we need a little lift," Nash conceded. "We probably can improve our chemistry. … At some point I think there needs to be a healthy balance between being excited and having a spirit about us and at the same time holding each other accountable. I don't think that balance, for the most part, has been [there]."
Said Kerr: "[O'Neal's] presence is magnetic and that is a big part of it."
2. Mike D'Antoni was the first Suns voter to push for the deal … and Kerr was actually the last one to sign off.
This will be recorded as Kerr's first major move since assuming control of the Suns' front office and maybe the biggest trade he'll ever make. He knows he's "on the line" with how it turns out.
"If it works, I'm a genius," Kerr said. "If it doesn't, I'm a moron, I guess."
Maybe that's why Kerr was the hardest to convince.
It was easy to assume that this deal was somewhat forced on D'Antoni; welcoming Shaq could be saying goodbye to a fair bit of the speed and abandon that has defined the Suns since D'Antoni and Nash hooked up for the 2004-05 season. But Phoenix privately insists -- and Kerr alluded to it publicly as well -- that D'Antoni was actually ready to make the trade as soon as it was presented to him.
It appears that Kerr was the apprehensive one, having closely followed the loud skepticism all season about how much O'Neal has left. That's why he insisted that O'Neal subject himself to a lengthy evaluation Wednesday afternoon with the Suns' doctors and training staff before the deal went through, during which those experts convinced Kerr that they can indeed nurse Shaq back to a healthy place like they've maintained with Nash and Hill.
"I wasn't going to do this," Kerr said, "unless I felt really good about it from a medical standpoint."
Said D'Antoni: "The question mark was, 'Does he have any gas left in the tank?' And I think you guys have debated it now for 24 hours and come up with 'no.' And I think you're wrong.
"I do find it kind of funny … first we can't win without a big man and once we get a big man, now we can't win with a big man. I do think he's not going to come to Phoenix and lay an egg."
3. Financial concerns? The Suns will make money from Shaq's arrival.
Suns fans are still smarting from what happened in the summer, when Phoenix gave Seattle two future first-round picks to convince the Sonics to take on the salary of its only dependable defender in the post -- Kurt Thomas -- in order to reduce the club's luxury-tax bill.
Memories of that move are a big reason so many executives and pundits around the league reacted with such skepticism when the rumblings of a Shaq-to-Phoenix deal began to spread Tuesday night. It was a reflex reaction to presume that Suns owner Robert Sarver would never sanction the acquisition of a thirtysomething 7-footer on the decline with two years and $40 million left on his contract after this season.
Yet we were all wrong. For starters, Sarver revealed that the talks between the teams originated at ownership level, stemming from conversations with Miami's Micky Arison.
There's also the not-so-small matter of the likely spike in the Suns' merchandise sales and TV ratings that comes with adding a player of Shaq's stature. Combine that with the fact that extending Marion's contract or trading him for someone else with a longer contract -- along with keeping Marcus Banks -- would have eventually cost Phoenix more than bringing O'Neal in, and you can understand Sarver's glee.
"This is money in the bank," one rival executive suggests.
4. The Suns love that so many outsiders are down on the trade.
Or so they claim.
Kerr, in particular, couldn't wait to share the story about a meeting Wednesday with D'Antoni and other Suns staffers during which O'Neal pointed up at a nearby TV that flashed some unflattering results from an ESPN.com poll.
Kerr quoted Shaq as saying: "Seventy-one percent of people in America apparently think this is a bad deal. That makes me angry. And I play better when I'm angry."
D'Antoni drew laughs with his follow-up wish that the poll figure soon increases to 80 percent, but you can understand why he was only half-kidding. O'Neal has missed 14 games already this season with a hip problem that is likely to delay his debut in a Suns uniform until next week at the earliest. As he intimated with his "egg" comment above, D'Antoni and Co. are naturally hoping that the scores of naysayers nationwide will help get Shaq into I'll-Show-You condition.
The Suns are already convinced that O'Neal will be a mentor to Stoudemire, whom he's known since Amare was 13. They know Shaq would dearly love to break his tie with Tim Duncan and win a fifth ring … and just getting out of the West would establish O'Neal as the first player in league history to take four different teams to the NBA Finals.
But they also know that Shaq has yet to prove to scores of doubters that he can find an offensive niche with a team that loves to shoot in seven seconds or less … or that he can stay out of foul trouble when the Suns absorb their usual punishment on guard penetrations … or that his body will cooperate with his 36th birthday just a month away.
"If you look at all the areas we're not good at, [O'Neal] adds a lot to those areas," Nash said. "He's an experienced champion. He's got the size we've always lacked. He can defend the post and rebound and block shots.
"I think, deep down, there's probably [Suns players] who have doubts. All of us are trying to figure this out together. … [But] I just think that [O'Neal is] a winner. I think he's got a lot of pride and I think he likes to show people what he can [still] do."
5. The Suns will nonetheless miss Marion more than they think.
My original reason for coming to Phoenix this week was seeing Chris Paul and Nash duel. I was barely able to take in a dribble Wednesday night because of all the Shaq-related hoopla, but it didn't escape my attention that the Suns tied an unwanted club record with only one steal in their epic 132-130 loss to New Orleans in double overtime.
That's one steal in 58 minutes.
Maybe Marion was indeed a handful in the locker room because of his persistent belief that he was underappreciated and underpublicized. Maybe rooting out his unhappiness and the unneeded tension it created will be addition by subtraction for the Suns, even if it takes Shaq some time to make an on-court impact.
Yet what you can't deny is that Marion was the only Sun who could guard all five positions … and that the Suns don't appear to have a perimeter defender who can comfortably replace him alongside Raja Bell … and that Phoenix seemingly had some pretty decent chemistry where it matters most. On the floor.
So we're about to find out if Marion is as critical to the Suns' success as he's been claiming (in vain, he'd argue) for all these years.
"Shawn is fantastic [defensively with] the different players he can cover and the amount of court he can cover with his quickness and athleticism," Nash said.
"There's no doubt that the jury's out. We'll see how this works. But it's pretty tough to pass up on a player like Shaq."

With the Feb. 21 NBA trade deadline approaching, who would of thought that the Lakers would get it started.

The Los Angles Lakers started the NBA tradeing off in style by landing 7 foot Paul Gasol from Memphis in return for Kwami Brown and Javaris Crittenton. A steal if you ask me. I am sure the Lakers already had Kwami Brown's packed and waiting on anyone willing to take a chance on him. (poor Memphis) Gasol is averaging 18.8 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 3.0 assists, and 1.0 bpg. He was the 2002 NBA Rookie of the Year. That same year he was named the MVP of the World Championships when he led Spain to the gold medal. In 2006, he became an NBA All-Star. All of that for Kwami Brown, poor Memphis!

What else could happen before February 21st? Let's see.......the entire New York Knicks team, no seriously here are some players that should go, but look at their salaries and decide if you would take them.

Chicago's Ben Wallace, he still has 28 million left over 2 years and he is also 33 years old. Jermain O'Neal, bad knee. Mike Bibby, always hurt and can't shoot. Tracy McGrady, always hurt and the Houston Rockets have won 7 of 11 without him. Larry Hughes, the most overpaid man in Ohio. He is constantly booed at home (I have been one of them booeing him) and is either hurt or crying, oops! that is just a tatoo of a tear. He is still owed 26 million and can't do much of anyhting. Obviously, you can tell I don't think too highly of him. Finally, Jason Kid. He has come out and requested a trade and the Nets will move him soon. There have been rumors about him going back to Dallas, but coach Avery Johnson has quickly squashed that idea. What Lebron and I wouldn't give to see him in Cleveland. Larry Hughes, New Jersey???????