NBA Trade News: Cavs' Antawn Jamison, Steal of the Decade

The Cleveland Cavaliers' recently reported acquisition of Antawn Jamison is easily the best deal of the decade so far and will be hard to top in the coming years.

The Cavs have essentially traded one of the last picks in the draft and have lost the services of Zydrunas Ilgauskas for 30 days in exchange for the "stretch four" that they have been looking for.

Jamison does so many things for the Cavaliers at such a cheap price it easily ranks as one of the biggest steals of all time.  It is an even bigger steal than the Lakers giving up peanuts and a pick (Marc Gasol) for Pau Gasol two years ago.

The acquisition of Jamison gives the Cavs the ability to play the most intricate basketball in the country.  His size and shooting ability allow them to play a huge lineup when they want to go big, and a quick and efficient lineup when they want to go small.

With a big, and what would seemingly be their starting lineup, they will play Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, LeBron, Jamison, and Shaq.  This draws a man away from doubling Shaq, which is what they would normally do with JJ Hickson in the lineup, giving the big man more touches.

With a small lineup, there could be any variation of LeBron, Jamison, Hickson, and Anderson Varejao at center and power forward.  That would leave Williams at point guard, Delonte West at shooting guard and Parker at small forward.  This leaves the team able to run a fast-paced, high-energy offense that could give defensive coordinators fits.

This move, more importantly, gives LeBron an even bigger reason to stay.  This has shown, without a doubt, that the Cavs owners and Danny Ferry are going to do anything possible to build a winning team in Cleveland.

The Cavs have already given themselves a top-3 spot in the Eastern Conference pretty much regardless of how they finish the season.  This gives Jamison a no-pressure situation in which to adjust to his new team and fit into the system just in time for the playoffs. 

This deal definitely puts Cleveland over the top and should vault them into the NBA finals for years to come.  It could be the start of a dynasty in Cleveland (a ridiculous thought I know).