After years of being imprisoned in the D.C. insane asylum, Antawn Jamison was finally given his parole.

On Wednesday, the trade rumors that had the Wizards forward being shipped to Cleveland finally became a reality.  In total, there were three teams involved in the deal.  The Cavaliers received Jamison and Sebastian Telfair.  The Washington Wizards picked up Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Al Thornton and a first-round draft pick.  The Los Angeles Clippers got Drew Gooden.

While the moves for L.A. and Washington were for money saving implications, it was Cleveland who got the major piece that they wanted to make themselves a front runner in the East.  Jamison, averaging 20 and 8 per night, provides the Cavs with the versatility that they so desperately lacking at the power forward position.  During last year’s playoff run, the skill set of Orlando’s Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu proved to be what put them over the top during their series win against LeBron and company.  Jamison figures to put a plug in that gap.  The North Carolina alum possesses the ability to score inside and out, with his range extending outside the three-point arc.  He has great mobility, but is also a consistent rebounder – - he’s averaged more than 9 rebounds per game over the last three years.

Point guard Sebastian Telfair is now part of the Cavaliers.

The really big news here is that the Cavs barely gave up anything to get the player that they are hoping will put them over the hump.  They didn’t have to trade J.J. Hickson, and that is huge because LeBron James has begun to develop a certain chemistry with him (almost reminiscent of the Chris Paul-Tyson Chandler pairing in N.O.).

Also, giving away “Z” is child’s play.  You’d have to figure that Washington will buy him out, leaving him with the option to return to Cleveland after he clears waivers.  So, in essence, the Cavs would have added a two-time All-Star to their roster for a future first-round draft pick.  Cleveland was also able to scoop up a legitimate backup point guard in Sebastian Telfair.  After the unpromising start to his career, he has settled into knowing how to use his speed and passing gifts to change the tempo of the game.  He gives the Cavs a true floor general who can spell LeBron’s ball handling duties. 

Overall this was a great job by Cleveland management.  Now let’s see if the Cavs can live up to the expectation of success that this transaction has brought.

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