Their eye remains on Dwight Howard, but in the meantime the Los Angeles Lakers continue to build their roster. The latest addition will be veteran forward Antwan Jamison, who will sign a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum with the Lakers.
Antwan Jamison, a scorer with an awkward game, has spent much of his 14-year career on bad teams. For a player who has never advanced past the second round of the playoffs, the Lakers’ chance to contend apparently was too enticing to Jamison.He chose the Lakers over the Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors and Charlotte Bobcats.
Matching him with Kobe Bryant and newcomer Steve Nash — and a post up game with either Andrew Bynum or Howard — and Jamison will have plenty of room to score in his varying fashions. He played under coach Mike Brown in Cleveland.
The Lakers are the fifth NBA team for Jamison, who averaged 17.2 points for an awful Cavs team last season despite shooting a career-low 40.3 percent. His career average is 19.5 points per game in his career, never scoring fewer than 15.8 points per game since his rookie season with Golden State.
Jamison could be a huge upgrade to the Lakers’ bench, which repeatedly struggled to hold leads last season when the starters sat down. Matt Barnes was the Lakers’ top-scoring reserve with just 7.8 points per game.
Jamison generates his steady scoring from an arsenal of herky-jerky, off-balance shots, including an impressive ability to shoot underhanded. He’s also a remarkably consistent 3-point shooter — hitting between 34 and 35 percent of his attempts in each of the past five seasons — joining a team that needs perimeter scoring.
Bryant knows all about Jamison’s unique skills: They were Pacific Division rivals early in their careers, and they engaged in one of the most scintillating scoring duels in NBA history on Dec. 6, 2000, in Oakland. Jamison and Bryant scored 51 points apiece — Bryant’s career high at the time — as Golden State beat the Lakers in overtime
