INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Trades during the middle of an NBA season can be a gamble.

Especially when the team making the move has the league's best record.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, though, are steadfast that the addition of Antawn Jamison to a 43-11 team will not be difficult.

"I think the transition can be somewhat seamless," GM Danny Ferry said at a late morning news conference. "We were going to have our ups and downs if we did nothing. And we're going to have our ups and downs with a trade. I think at the end of the day, adding what we added, gives us a different dynamic going forward."

The Cavs nearly gushed when talking about Jamison, making him sound more valuable than Detroit's acquisition of Rasheed Wallace a few years back -- an acquisition that most feel gave the Pistons the NBA title.

In describing Jamison, Ferry and coach Mike Brown used words and phrases like "ultimate professional" and "high-character guy," saying he has a "presence" and "brings things that just make you better."

Imagine if they'd have acquired Kobe Bryant.

"We've been working to get Antawn for a while," Ferry said. "One of the reasons why is because I think he really fills a need for us."

Jamison provides the Cavs a legitimate scorer to go with LeBron James. James has had a repeat-type MVP season, but the memory of the playoff loss to Orlando lingers. Then, the Cavs offense boiled down to James and pray.

Jamison (20.8 points, 8.8 rebound) can shoot the three, drive, score around the basket and do something Brown called a lost art: score from the eight-to-10 foot range.

"So he doesn't necessarily have to get to the rim," Brown said. "And there will be a lot of those types of shots, especially with our guys. Because people don't want to take their bodies off of Shaq at the rim. They don't want to take their body off J.J. (Hickson), with his ability to go up and dunk the ball. They don't want to take their body off of Andy (Varejao)."

The transition also will be seamless, Ferry said, because of the players on the Cavs.

James is the ultimate team player -- with double-figure assists in eight of his last 12 games. Shaquille O'Neal has willingly accepted a smaller role. The Cavs entered the All-Star break with a 13-game winning streak, with Mo Wiliams and Leon Powe due to return from injury soon.

"I think Antawn is ready to accept any role and do anything," Ferry said. "I think we have a group of guys that it's about winning. We have good leadership, from the coaches to the leaders on the team. It's not going to be without its challenges, but I do feel good about the group of guys that we have -- and that makes me feel more comfortable."

Jamison will not play in Thursday night's game against Denver, and Brown said he had not decided if Jamison would start or come off the bench. Varejao has provided a huge boost as the sixth man, with Hickson starting.

Jamison could fill either role -- though it's hard to imagine him not being on the court at the more important time: At the finish of games.

There was a strong tinge of sadness about the trade, too, as the Cavs sent Zydrunas Ilgauskas to the Wizards. Ilgauskas has played more games in a Cavs uniform than any player, and he has always been a personal favorite of Ferry's.

Ferry came close to tears when talking about his departure.

The general thinking is that Washington will buy out Ilgauskas' contract and he will then return to Cleveland in 30 days (the amount of time he has to wait according to league rules).

There is logic in the thinking. Ilgauskas' home is in Cleveland, and the two children he and his wife Jennifer adopted this past offseason from an orphanage in Lithuania are in Cleveland as well. Ilgauskas is admired and liked by the fans, and liked and respected in the locker room and by James, who has played more game with Z as a teammate than anyone.

Z is so well liked and respected that Ferry said he purposely avoided asking James about the trade because he knew he'd have to tell him he was trading Ilgauskas.

"It wouldn't have been appropriate," Ferry said.

The Cavs can't say it, but clearly the hope is for a buyout leads to Ilgauskas' return. But there are no guarantees, and Ferry knows it. It only takes one team to make Ilgauskas an offer he cannot refuse.

In other news, guard Mo Williams "tweeted" that he was going to have an MRI on his injured left shoulder. Williams, who has been out since Jan. 19, returned to practice Wednesday.

He did not "tweet" if the MRI was routine, or if there were any further concerns about the shoulder.

Source: Pat McManamon, FanHouse