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Jamison Ready to Be a WizardEven though he's going from one of the best teams in the NBA to a team that's been down for a long time, Antawn Jamison is very happy the Dallas Mavericks traded him to the Washington Wizards. "I can't stress how excited I am to be part of this organization," Jamison said. Jamison averaged 14.8 points and 6.3 rebounds last season, making him the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year. Jamison will start this season. "This is definitely the best situation so far in my career," he said. Jamison thinks that a new winning tradition can be born in the nation's capital. "We might have all the pieces here," said the Wizards' president of basketball operations Ernie Grunfeld. Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Wiz & Mavs Kick Off Deal-Making as Draft Day ArrivesIn a monumental trade that could set up what many expect to be an intense period of player movement centered around NBA Draft 2004, the Washington Wizards traded Jerry Stackhouse, Christian Laettner and the number 5 overall pick to the Dallas Mavericks for the Sixth Man of the Year, Antawn Jamison. The trade may be both a signal of the active off-season that is to come as well as a key catalyst that could have a direct impact on additional NBA player movement. That is to say, the Mavericks held out for the Wizards' first-round pick and may use the acquired Draft selection as bait for a bigger catch. There is growing speculation that the Dallas brass is on the verge of putting together a package to acquire the NBA's most dominant center, Shaquille O'Neal. Jamison, 6'9", turned in 14.8 points and 6.3 rebounds a game off the Mavericks' bench this past season. He will not only be a starter for the Wizards but could emerge as one of the leading forwards in the Eastern Conference. The 225-pound Jamison will be re-united with former Golden State Warriors teammate Gilbert Arenas. Regarding salaries and money: Stackhouse, a former all-star, has three more years left on his contract, with remaining payouts of $22.5 million. Jamison will make $12.5 million next season with an option year to follow. This is the first major trade of the new Wizards' front office led by president of basketball operations Ernie Grunfeld, and character determinations may have played a role in the deal. Indeed, there is much reason to believe that the Wizard brass had come to consider both Stackhouse and Laettner to be negative influences on the club. The trade also reflects the Wizards' reluctance to continue gambling on unproven talent. Tonight's Draft will be particularly loaded with young players who have little or no college basketball experience. "It's probably not a Draft that's going to produce a lot of impact players right away," Grunfeld recently told the media at the NBA's pre-Draft camp in Chicago. Washington Wizards, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Jamison a Wizard."The Mavericks, according to league sources, have acquired the No. 5 overall pick in Thursday's draft from Washington as part of a package that features Antawn Jamison, the newly minted Sixth Man of the Year, as the prize catch for the Wizards. ESPN's David Aldridge reports that the Wizards also will send Christian Laettner and Jerry Stackhouse to the Mavericks in the deal." Sources say the Mavericks hope to use the No. 5 pick to sweeten the package they can offer the Lakers in exchange for the disgruntled O'Neal. It is also possible, sources say, that the Mavericks will pursue additional trades that include Laettner and/or Stackhouse. Laettner makes a return to Dallas and Jamison joins former teammate Gilbert Arenas in Washington. The Mavericks are trying to sweeten the package for Shaq because they are trying to do the deal without adding Dirk Nowitski. The package could inlcude the pick, Antoine Walker, Steve Nash, and Josh Howard. If the Mavericks can't use the pick in a deal they might possibly select Pavel Podkolzine. Washington Wizards, Dallas Mavericks Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Wizards Jun 2004 Archive
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