Antawn Jamison's Time Already Up for Cleveland Cavaliers?
Plain and simple, Antawn Jamison isn’t fitting in with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jamison played just 21 minutes off the bench in Wednesday night’s win over the Boston Celtics, while scoring just four points on 2-for-6 shooting with four rebounds. It may be too early to jump to conclusions, but all signs point to Jamison being shipped out of Cleveland before the trade deadline.
The Cavaliers are in a rebuilding year, and that means molding their young players. J.J. Hickson led the Cavs to the victory over the Celtics and he is seen by many to be the future in Cleveland. Byron Scott has to give Hickson an ample amount of minutes if he is going to become the player that they think he can be. That doesn’t bode well for Jamison.
Jamison has made no secret of being unhappy about his role with the team, saying that he doesn’t really know where he stands or what his role is. Here is a quote from Jamison in the Ohio News-Herald.
"“I don’t know what the role is going to (be). I don’t know how many minutes I’ll play. I’m up in the air, just like you.”
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That is a very telling statement. Jamison, arguably the best player on the team, isn’t happy with his role and deserves more. Jamison’s career averages speak for themselves: 18.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. It doesn’t appear that he’s too happy becoming the next Allen Iverson-style sixth man.
The concept of the sixth man isn’t foreign to Jamison. In 2004, he was the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year with the Dallas Mavericks. The only difference between then and now is the team he’s with and his age. At 34, he knows his years are limited and coming off the bench for a potential lottery-bound team probably isn’t something he is happy doing.
Again, it may be too soon to look too much into this, but be careful, because it could turn ugly very fast. I don’t see any way that Jamison will finish the year with the Cavs. Jamison wants to compete for a title and the Cavs want to rebuild and restock with young talent. That’s a perfect recipe for a trade with a contender for a draft pick or two and/or young talent. There are plenty of playoff or championship contenders that would love to have Jamison’s services.
Jamison definitely could be Cleveland’s best player, but he doesn’t fit into their long-term plans. For now, the Cavs are stuck with Jamison and he is stuck with them. A lot of things have changed since he came to town under a year ago.
Hopefully for the team and Jamison’s sake, this situation won’t get nasty. It’s no secret things aren’t moving in the same direction for both parties, and a peaceful resolve would be ideal for both. There’s no reason to turn this into a distraction for the team. Put Jamison on the market and let’s make everyone happy.
