Antawn Jamison moving to Los Angeles Lakers – NBA News
Antawn Jamison officially became the newest signing by the Los Angeles Lakers in an off-season that has seen them land incredible talent to make the team title contenders once again.
Jamison is all set to sign a one year veteran’s minimum contract with the Lakers, a source has told ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Dave McMenamin.
The 36 year old veteran joins the Lakers team in an attempt to win the first championship ring of his career, and will provide depth, leadership and strength to the Lakers bench.
Jamison joins a stellar Lakers starting roster, including point guard Steve Nash, shooting guard Kobe Bryant and two big men in Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. A possible trade that is currently in the works could have Andrew Bynum
upgraded to Dwight Howard, making the Lakers one of the fiercest teams in the NBA.
Jamison is a 14 year veteran of the NBA, and played his last three seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he was sent in a trade with the Washington Wizards in the 2009-2010 NBA season. He averaged 17.2 points and 6.3 rebounds
last season with Cleveland, and has a career average of 19.5 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.
He will be a huge addition to the Lakers bench, who do not have much bench depth and were hurt by it in the playoffs this year. Matt Barnes contributed the most amongst the Lakers bench last season by averaging 7.8 points per game.
The Charlotte Bobcats, Brooklyn Nets and Golden State Warriors were all looking to hire the services of the veteran forward, but he chose the Lakers as he thought they have the best chance of winning a championship next season.
Jamison has played a reserve in only one season in his NBA career, when he was playing for the Dallas Mavericks in the 2003-2004 season. He is a proficient scorer and has the stats to prove it, but has always been signed to teams
that have not had a good run in the playoffs. Now with the Lakers, he will be looking forward to contributing towards a title push.
With Jamison locked, the Lakers will now look to concentrate on a possible trade with the Orlando Magic for Dwight Howard. If that deal doesn’t work out, they are likely to begin negotiations with Andrew Bynum for a contract extension.
Bynum is currently on the final year of his contract.
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