Los Angeles Lakers officially introduce veteran forward Antawn Jamison – NBA News
Antawn Jamison was all smiles when he was officially introduced by the Los Angeles Lakers at a press conference held at their practice facility at El Segundo.
The veteran forward is the newest member of a Lakers roster that is looking better by the day and will be a true contender for the NBA title next season. And that is exactly why Jamison was ecstatic about being a part of the team.
“To be a part of a great organization, great teammates, great coaching staff, it's definitely a great day for me and hopefully for the Lakers as well," said Jamison.
Jamison had seen his share of personal achievements and success in the NBA over the course of his career. He is a two time NBA All Star and former 6th man of the year. However, Jamison has had a reputation of being
the good player on a relatively bad team, and has missed out on the excitement of being part of a playoff team making a deep run in the playoffs.
His last playoff appearance came in 2010 with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where the Cavs were defeated by the Boston Celtics and led to the departure of LeBron James to Miami. Jamison had been traded to the Cavs only a few months
before the 2010 playoffs, and the departure of LeBron turned the Cavs from a playoff team into a rebuilding nightmare. Just like that, Jamison once again missed out on an opportunity to play on a playoff team.
With the Lakers, he knows that he has that chance once again. The Lakers have always been respected as a team that makes smart offseason decisions to remain relevant in the NBA and competitive enough to be a genuine playoff contender.
And this season, with the addition of Steve Nash, the Lakers roster is looking better than ever before.
Jamison will join a star studded Lakers roster, which includes Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Metta World Peace as the starting five. He will take his place on the Lakers bench, and will attempt to make the
bench better with his experience and scoring capabilities. The Lakers had one of the most underperforming benches last season and need a good output from the role players next season if they want to be title contenders.
"In the past, I'm probably the second or first option that coaches are trying to scheme against. In this situation, I might be the last guy he's even thinking about. For that to open, I'm definitely eager for those scenarios to
happen,” added Jamison.
Jamison has played with Steve Nash in 2004 as a member of the Dallas Mavericks, and Mike Brown was the Cavaliers coach when he got to Cleveland in 2010. Hence, the settling in phase for him will not be that long and difficult.
At 36, Jamison can still bring a great deal of versatility to any team. Last season, he averaged 17.2 points and 6.3 rebounds as a starter for the Cavaliers, and had a field goal percentage of 40.3%. He will greatly help in improving
the productivity of the Lakers bench, which was a big concern for them last season.
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