Antawn Jamison to Become Lakers Analyst
Charlotte resident and Tar Heel alumnus Antawn Jamison has reached a deal to become a Los Angeles Lakers analyst on Time Warner Cable SportsNet in Los Angeles. Jamison spent 2012 with the Lakers. He then spent 2013 with the rival Clippers up until the trade deadline when he was shipped to the Atlanta Hawks. For the time being this puts his 16 year NBA career on hold. Whether it is a real retirement is uncertain, because nowhere does it say that he is actually retiring.
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Jamison was a free agent this past off-season and talked of playing one more year. There was always suspicion that he wanted to return home to play for the Charlotte franchise, but evidently did not get the phone call. Defense was never Jamison’s specialty, but it is very important to Hornets coach Steve Clifford.
If this is the end of the line for Jamison, then he has done pretty good in 16 years. He never won an NBA title, though he was part of the core group of several teams that were built for it. He gained his first notoriety in the NBA coming off the bench for the Mavericks, earning 6th man honors. When he was traded to the Washington Wizards, he became part of the trio with Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler that was an offensive power house. The Wizards traded him to Cleveland as the Cavs made a last ditch attempt to get LeBron a title.
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Jamison is also one of the few retired jerseys that hang in the Smith Center. No Tar Heel has worn 33 since 1998. He was National Player of the Year that year. Jamison’s move to the booth and Stackhouse’s move to the bench mean that Vince Carter is now the senior statesman of Tar Heel Basketball and the last Dean Smith coached player in the pros.