The castle has been stormed, and the towers are collapsing all around him.
But Antawn Jamison remains the dutiful Wizards soldier, repelling the trade rumors that have surrounded him for most of the year. He was as direct as possible Thursday, one day after Gilbert Arenas was suspended for the rest of the season, simply the latest wave in a season-long siege on Washington.
“I don’t see anything happening,” said Jamison. “I’ve been in this league for a while, and I’ve heard all the rumors there is to hear. It’s part of the territory. But the reality of me not being here, I don’t think it’s going to happen, as far as my sources and the way things are going.”
But Jamison should no longer have to fight a losing battle when he has earned the right to be a winner, and he won’t be that at Verizon Center. More valuable than his loyalty to the team that signed him to a four-year, $50 million contract extension two years ago would be his departure. It would be the first and best step toward acknowledging that the Wizards’ current foundation is both flawed and limited.
If Arenas and Jamison were to play again for Washington next year — a lifetime (six seasons) removed from when they advanced to the second round of the playoffs — the Wizards would have more than $53 million in committed salary. They’d seriously threaten the declining salary cap before they could even consider re-signing Mike Miller or Brendan Haywood.
Short-term help Fabricio Oberto and Earl Boykins can’t be counted on now or in the future, either.
A lottery pick — John Wall? Evan Turner? — another late first-rounder, a developing J.J. Hickson, Zydrunas Ilgauskas‘ expiring contract, which could be used to buy talent this summer, and the end of a petty feud with the Cleveland Cavaliers front office would be preferable.
“I want to win more than anything,” said Jamison. “But nothing has been said to me. I’ve seen those guys every day, I have not asked to leave and this is my job. I’ll stand here and fight and continue to do what I do until I’m not here anymore.”
For the Wizards’ sake and Jamison’s, that shouldn’t be much longer.
