Ernie Grunfeld was talking to a group of reporters about why he made the trade with Dallas on Saturday, when an off-key singing voice came howling from the other end of the hallway outside the Wizards' practice court at Verizon Center.
"I got a feeling - whoo! Hoo! That tonight's gonna be a good night," Antawn Jamison sang, smiling.
At the time it seemed that Jamison's choice of the Black Eyed Peas song, "I got a feeling" was hint of something prescient, like maybe a trade. The Wizards intensified their talks with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, with the trade deadline closing in. Yahoo! Sports reported that the Cavaliers are considering a deal that would send Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Jamario Moon and a No. 1 pick to Washington for Jamison and the seldom-used Mike James.
I spoke to several people about that proposal Tuesday night, and while no one denied that those players had been discussed, they all admitted that it was among several deals that the teams are talking about. One person familiar with the discussion said that reported deal had "no chance" of going down. But it seems apparent that nothing will go down until the Phoenix Suns decide what they are going to do with Amare Stoudemire.
Based on my conversations, I am under the impression that the Cavaliers would prefer to acquire Stoudemire, a 26-year-old all-star stud who is also being pursued by the Miami Heat. The Suns and Cavaliers discussed a possible deal over the weekend in Dallas, but Cleveland would like to cover its tail with Phoenix stalling. The Cavaliers have two other solid offers on the table for Troy Murphy and Corey Maggette, but Jamison appears to be the next option after Stoudemire.
The Wizards have also spoken to Miami and Boston about Jamison, who stands as the last member of the so-called "Big Three" remaining with Caron Butler in Dallas and Gilbert Arenas suspended for the rest of the season. Jamison would like to play for a championship, but to some around the league, there is still some doubt about Grunfeld's willingness to help Cleveland win. And, according to a league source, if Jamison is dealt, his preference would be Boston over Cleveland.
There was some speculation, given life on D.C. radio, that the Wizards would try to package Jamison and Mike Miller to acquire Shaquille O'Neal. That has been shot down by everyone I spoke to yesterday because Cleveland has no desire or plans to move O'Neal, who has been everything they had hoped he would be and more. Also, the Wizards don't want to move Miller and would like to re-sign him after this season.
