NBA Trade Rumor: Antawn Jamison To New Orleans

With the NBA Trade Deadline a few weeks away, the rumors are already beginning to intensify. Last week, there was chatter that Mo Williams was being shopped by Cleveland, and this week the noise surrounds his teammate Antawn Jamison. While ESPN.com’s Marc Stein notes that Jamison is high the list of “movable assets,” he also reports that “increasing apprehension about how restrictive the next labor agreement will be has prompted several teams to back off on deal-making.” With that said, the Hornets are still interested.

Sources say New Orleans, for example, has a level of interest in Jamison, but also expressed skepticism that a suitable deal can be assembled before the deadline to send out the 35-year-old anywhere. It’s true that Jamison has only one year left on his contract after this season, but that one season is valued at a meaty $15.1 million, which means Cleveland would almost certainly have to take back multiple players back to make the salary-cap math work.

A deal for Jamison would make sense for a team like the Hornets. Currently holding down the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference playoff picture, if they have any desire to tussle with the Lakers, Spurs, Mavericks or Thunder this year, adding a veteran piece – especially with Emeka Okafor sidelined – would be huge. As for what they could send back in return, that’s a little more tricky. Is there anybody on the roster that Cleveland really wants to build with?

What do you think? Would you want Jamison on your team? What would you be willing to give up?

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