The Cavaliers and their fans only seem to care about Jamison, the talented stretch power forward with high character who seems destined to be traded as his team attempts to start anew.
It isn't a certainty, but several league executives said this week that the Wizards are listening to offers for every player on their roster and not ruling any sort of deal out.
"If you're running a team you can either sell success or you can sell hope but that's about it," said one high-ranking executive. "They've got a new owner coming [in Washington] and right now they sure can't sell success so you can understand why they are looking at some options to have hope by the [trade] deadline. You expect them to look at all their options to do it."
So where does that leave the Cavs and Jamison? Unlike so many trade scenarios between teams that crop up during every season, there is a natural trade that can be made. The Cavs can offer the Wizards salary relief by trading Zydrunas Ilgauskas straight up for Jamison, thus getting the Wizards off the hook for the $28 million.
That's not a deal that makes basketball sense, of course. But almost no trades that are being made these days are for talent reasons. With the Wizards thinking about re-making their team, moving the 33-year-old to give them flexibility actually makes some basketball sense over the long term in addition to big financial savings starting next year.
But it will not be that simple. The Wizards will probably want more, perhaps a prospect like J.J. Hickson and maybe even draft picks. The Cavs, of course, won't want to pay that price and may demand Ilgauskas be released as part of the deal. Because $28 million is still $28 million.
So there you have the basic negotiation.
The Wizards they may not want to even think about making a trade to help the Cavs, who have so much bad blood with them. Frankly, though, Washington may not end up having much of a choice, especially if it is committed to reducing future payrolls.
"There's no way the Wizards will want to make that deal with the Cavs," one general manager said last week. "It may come down to a tough decision because in reality there's not a lot of places they can send him if they want to get cap space. That's why it may not happen until the very last minute, they'll search for other options."
In other words, it isn't trading Jamison that's hard. It's trading Jamison for value that's tough. Trading him for straight cap relief, which may be the best thing for the team, is even tougher.
There's just not many potential suitors willing to offer expiring contracts. Simply put, teams aren't in the mood to take on that kind of money even for a forward who is still playing at an All-Star level.
The Dallas Mavericks don't mind taking on money and they had Jamison in the past. They also have some expiring contracts, so that's one legit option. The Orlando Magic have lots of assets but no expiring contracts and have a Jamison clone already in Rashard Lewis.
The Golden State Warriors are in the same position as Orlando. They have assets but not the expiring contracts. Plus would the Wizards trade the extremely loyal Jamison to the wasteland that is Golden State? Some think not.
The Houston Rockets have the ammo, namely the expiring Tracy McGrady contract, but they seem to be more interested in Caron Butler than Jamison because they have good power forwards on already on their roster.
But with all of those destinations there's no obvious deal. Except for the Cavs.
After those options, there's just a horde of teams that either are protecting cap space, don't have real assets (available young talent, expiring contracts) or aren't willing to spend the money Jamison will be making for the next two years.
Things change fast in the NBA. There's lots of executives who are creative and there's always the option of three-team trades that open up more chances. But until further notice, there's reason to speculate the Cavs and Wizards could end up doing business for one of the prime properties on the market.
Around The Association
BY THE NUMBERS
2,556: Average additional tickets home teams sell when the Cavs come to town, based on research done by the blog SuperSonic Soul. That leads the league, with the Lakers ranking second at 1,732 above the home team’s attendance average.
24: Consecutive games the Nets were outrebounded until Friday night in New Orleans. It broke the record held by the Charlotte Hornets during the 1988-89 season, which was 20 straight.
3: Grizzlies who average more than 18 points a game, the only team in the league with that distinction. They are Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph and O.J. Mayo.
-- Brian WindhorstGambling bans: One of the collateral results of the Arenas suspension for having guns in the Wizards' locker room appears to be the start of a crackdown on gambling.
The disagreement between Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton stemmed from a card game played on a team flight from Phoenix to Washington. For years, players have commonly played and gambled on a French card game called Bourr or Boo-Ray.
The Wizards banned the card games right after the incident. Last week, the Nets told players that gambling on card games is no longer permitted on team flights. They are believed to be the first team to take that step but the New York Times reported the league is considering taking widespread action.
For years, the only team that openly encouraged a ban was the Utah Jazz and veteran coach Jerry Sloan, who said gambling between players had negative effects on the floor when he was a player.
"I don't have a no-card playing rule," Sloan told reporters in Salt Lake City. "I just told the players I don't want them playing for money. I've tried to legislate that a little bit because I know a lot of times players go back to the hotel and play cards."
No matter what the league may say, players often play privately on their own time. Also, betting on shooting games after practices and shootarounds is commonplace. Sometimes coaches get involved in such wagers.
"I don't want to be a cop and run around behind these guys and watch everything they do," Sloan said. "But I think things like [high stakes] card games are conducive to failure and, I think, you see it. Things happen and all of a sudden basketball isn't important. The other stuff becomes more important."
The other Kings rookie: Sacramento's Tyreke Evans has emerged as the top candidate for Rookie of the Year. But his teammate, rookie Omri Casspi, seems to be getting overlooked. Once a feel-good story because he was the first Israeli to be drafted in the first round, Casspi is no longer a sideshow.
In an era where most of the recent imports from Europe have been a disappointment, the 6-10 Casspi has overachieved and won fans over with his enthusiasm. He's fourth in scoring among all rookies at 13.2 points a game and leads them in 3-point shooting at 47 percent. His shooting has been a surprise because scouts predicted he'd be inconsistent before the draft.
Along with Evans and second-round hustle specialist Jon Brockman, Casspi is a big reason why there's so much excitement about the Kings' future.
Goading Gasol: Lakers coach Phil Jackson has a way of dryly insulting/challenging players, referees, the league office and even members of the media. He seems to be giving center Pau Gasol that treatment concerning his left hamstring injury, which happened when Gasol was simply jumping up and down getting loose before a game last Sunday.
Gasol missed the first 11 games of the season with a right hamstring injury, which featured several setbacks because Gasol didn't quite feel ready to play even though he had been cleared by team doctors.
He stopped short of blatantly calling his All-Star center "soft" when it came to injuries but it seems Jackson doesn't want Gasol to be so [overly?] cautious this time around. He was flicking at the issue in interviews with local media about how long Gasol will be out this time, especially when discussing what it might take for Gasol to allow himself to play.
"He'll have to be confident of where he's at," Jackson said. "He'll have to be fully assured that he's all right."
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