Lakers Rumors: Antawn Jamison Would Be Poor Pick-Up for Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Lakers are still trying to shake up their roster after officially announcing their sign-and-trade deal for Steve Nash on Wednesday. The hottest rumor surrounding Mitch Kupchak and the Laker brass is a three-way deal for Dwight Howard.

According to a report by ESPN's Dave McMenamin late Thursday evening those talks have cooled.

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One source familiar with the trade negotiations said Thursday that calls between the Houston Rockets and Lakers discussing a three-way trade have cooled, while the Atlanta Hawks appear to be gaining steam in their pursuit of Howard.

With Howard's eventual destination still anybody's guess, the Lakers are turning their attention to adding a backup big man or two.

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It's hard to believe that the Lakers have time to target other players with the attention they've devoted to Howard in recent weeks, but they are. 

McMenamin went into further detail later in his report. 

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Aside from Hill, appearing on the Lakers' "short list" of names they are hoping to add to the roster for the veteran's minimum are Antawn Jamison, Elton Brand and Jermaine O'Neal, according to a source familiar with the team's thinking.

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The Hill you see mentioned is Jordan Hill. According to McMenamin the Lakers are still negotiating with the free-agent big man's agent, but let's turn our attention elsewhere.

The Lakers are looking at 36-year-old Antawn Jamison. He averaged 17 points per game for Cleveland last year, but anyone who's watched him play knows that he's lost a step. He's not even close to the consistent double-double threat we saw for years in a Golden State and Washington uniform.

Los Angeles can offer Jamison the "veteran's minimum." I could see Jamison signing it. What veteran doesn't want a chance to win one last title? But the Lakers shouldn't offer it too him. 

The Lakers have plenty of big bodies. Let's assume they re-sign Hill (not a guarantee), and they just agreed to a new deal with Devin Ebanks on Thursday. Jamison is older and more experienced, but he isn't a major improvement over either player.

Los Angeles is already an older team. They don't need more peddling veterans on the court when they have the chance to develop young players and prepare for the future. 

Last season was the first time Jamison has been completely healthy in four years. He played well for Cleveland, but he shot the lowest field-goal percentage of his career (40.3 percent). He's an attractive name because of his successful years between 1999 and 2008, but he's a far cry from that player.

The Lakers should adopt a wait-and-see approach right now. They may not get Howard, but when did it hurt to have a few extra bucks laying around?

Los Angeles has what they need to be very competitive next season with or without Jamison. They should hang onto their capital, wait to see where they are at mid-season and use that money to address any needs they have at that point.

There's no sense in spending money just to spend it, and that's what signing Jamison would look like. He'd bring added experience to a young club (like Charlotte or Golden State,) but he doesn't bring much to a veteran-laden LA squad.