CLEVELAND, Ohio – Once a guy the Cavaliers feared and had to worry about defensively, is now a guy who will be helping them win an NBA championship this season and next. That guy being Antawn Jamison.

According to reports, the Cavaliers have come to an agreement with the Washington Wizards, and the Los Angeles Clippers on a three-way deal to nab Antawn Jamison, the former all star of the Wizards. The deal included the Cavaliers giving up long-time Cavalier Zydrunas Ilgauskas and a 1st round draft choice for the 2010 NBA draft. The Cavaliers also got guard Sebastian Telfair who is, at the moment injured and expected to miss 2-3 weeks.

It took some time for GM Danny Ferry to make it happen, but he found himself a third team to help make the deal more likable for the Wizards, who were reportedly asking for JJ Hickson to be included in the package deal the Cavs offered. But the Clippers stepped up and offered a young big in Al Thornton to the Wizards to make the deal happen. In return, the Clippers got former Cavalier Drew Gooden.

The Cavs were in the Amar’e Stoudemire sweepstakes for the long haul, but they did have their deadline set for the Suns to give them a yes or a no on the packages of deals they offered, which was reportedly about four different numbers of packages offered to the Suns. However, the Suns’ franchise elected to tell the Cavs they had not made up their minds on a decision yet. Thus, allowing the Cavaliers to accept the Wizards’ trade offer.

For the Cavs, it’s obviously a winning deal. They add a forward who fits the bill of a stretch-forward to go along with Shaquille O’Neal inside. Jamison is averaging 20.5 points per game, and 8.8 rebounds per game. He’s shooting at a decent 45 percent shooting from the field, and 34 percent shooting from 3pt range. Jamison has two years left remaining on his current contract at $13 million, and $15 million the next.

“Antawn is a great pro. We are very excited to have an experienced all-star player of Antawn’s caliber and character join us,” Ferry said. “He has the ability to add a special, unique dimension to our team with a strong inside presence and the ability to stretch teams defensively, while impacting the entire court. We think he matches the culture we have built, and continue to build, and will fit well with our group on the court and off.”

The Cavaliers ended up keeping their young rising forward in JJ Hickson, whom the Cavaliers are likely to keep in the starting lineup even with the addition of Jamison, although it’s unlikely.

The Cavs are also likely to receive Zydrunas Ilgauskas back in the 30-day process if and/or when the Washington Wizards buy his contract out, and according to sources Ilgauskas’ agent has already asked the ownership for a buyout.

“I’m going to try to get them to do a buy-out, but I’ve already heard from a few teams — good teams — that are really interested in wanting to talk about Z going to play for them,” Rudoy said. “That doesn’t surprise me. He’s still a very good player. He’s a very interesting player who can still be a very good center in this league.

The Cavs are still likely to re-sign Ilgauskas when he is bought-out.

“I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen. I think his heart is in Cleveland, that’s for sure. But we’ll see how this plays out. He’s got 30 days to make a decision if it’s Cleveland. If it’s somebody else, he could make it in a week. His whole decision will be based on what’s best for his career. He’d like to win a championship, that’s for sure. But it’s his call, not mine. I’m just going to give him all the options.”

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