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So much for wanting to address Arenas' situation first.
The Washington Wizards appear to be getting a jump on their offseason business.
A contract extension with Antawn Jamison that would keep the veteran forward off the free-agent market is "imminent," according to NBA front-office sources.
Sources told ESPN.com on Monday that the Wizards and Jamison would soon finalize terms on a four-year extension believed to be worth around $50 million, mere hours before Jamison was to become an unrestricted free agent.
Free agency in the NBA begins at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday and Jamison was expected to draw serious interest from the Philadelphia 76ers, one of the few teams -- along with the Memphis Grizzlies and the Los Angeles Clippers -- to have salary-cap room this summer to bid for top players.
A deal must be completed before midnight or the Wizards would be forced to wait until July 9 to re-sign Jamison when the league's moratorium on signings and trades is lifted. That could also expose Jamison to interest from other teams.
Although he just turned 32, Jamison is coming off his best season as a pro. He averaged 21.4 points and a career-best 10.2 rebounds in 79 games, earning a spot on the Eastern Conference All-Star team and helping the Wizards (43-39) reach the playoffs as a No. 5 seed despite injuries that limited franchise guard Gilbert Arenas to 13 games and fellow All-Star forward Caron Butler to 58 games.
Washington's first-round loss to Cleveland in six games was its third consecutive playoff elimination inflicted by the Cavaliers, but the Wizards believe that they can compete with the East's elite if the Arenas-Butler-Jamison core could find some sustained health. The Wizards did post a 3-1 record last season against the eventual champions from Boston, with no other team in the league beating the Celtics more than twice during the regular season.
Securing Jamison's signature would enable the Wizards to focus on re-signing Arenas, who has opted out of next season's $12.8 million salary to become a free agent despite the knee problems that have plagued him for more than a year. Arenas maintains that he intends to represent himself this summer as he seeks a new six-year contract in excess of $100 million.
Jamison earned $16.4 million last season in the final year of max extension he received from the Golden State Warriors back in August 2001. Although he's taking a healthy pay cut in terms of annual average salary, Jamison has maintained for months that he hoped to re-sign with Washington after four successful years with the Wizards following a one-season stint with the Dallas Mavericks in 2003-04, which earned him NBA Sixth Man Award honors.
"This organization has believed in me from Day 1. ... I definitely know they want me to stay and I want to stay," Jamison told ESPN.com in December.
Jamison also spoke fondly at the time of his role as Washington's elder statesman, saying: "You know what? I've been in a lot of situations before. I've been the young fella, I've been the guy who's trying to learn how to be a leader, I've been the guy coming off the bench as a sixth man. And now all of a sudden I'm the old head. It's been 10 years and it's gone by fast. But I'm really enjoying this."
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3467806
So much for wanting to address Arenas' situation first.
Jamison is limited but valuable. I could seem him as a cog on a championship team way before I could see Arenas. $10 mil/year is overpaying, but it's hard in this market not to give that to a 20-10 guy.
I didn't read the article, because I don't care that much, but didn't Arenas require that Jamison be resigned as a condition of his staying with the Whiz?So much for wanting to address Arenas' situation first.
Yes he did. He also indicated that he would consider taking less money, if necessary, for the club to resign Jamison. Request granted.
Be careful what you ask for, Gil.
I thought Zero said he wanted to be sure Jamison could be signed. Plus, they were going to have to wait until the second week of the month to sign Zero.So much for wanting to address Arenas' situation first.
So Arenas will "consider" taking less money before he says "No, you have to give me the max".
It's done.
Jamison signs four-year $50M contract to remain with Wizards
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200....ap/index.html
i think its fairly deserving, hes not just valuable as a oncourt player but coaches and teammates rave about his leadership. never hurts to have a character guy on and off the court.
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