7 players the Cleveland Cavaliers held onto for way too long

It’s hard moving on from players, especially if they have meant something to a franchise. There are relationships and emotions tied into these situations, and callously sending away a beloved player – star or role player – is harder than it seems. Just ask the Portland Trail Blazers and Damian Lillard.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are no exception to this situation either, especially with the violent oscillation between basement and contention based largely on whether or not LeBron James was on the roster. That caused them to hold on to some players for far too long, missing out on value in a trade or short-circuiting the best path forward for the franchise.

In no particular order, then, here are seven players that the Cavs held onto for way too long.

No. 7: Antawn Jamison

Antawn Jamison is a test case for the Hall of Fame, a consistently high-scoring forward who scored over 20,000 points (generally a HOF lock) but made just two All-Star Games and never made a postseason impact. In 2010 a Cleveland Cavaliers team heading for the top seed in the Eastern Conference traded for Jamison to give their offense a boost.

Whether or not he accomplished that, the Cavs lost in the second round to the Boston Celtics; a few weeks later, LeBron James was taking his talents to South Beach. At that point, the Cavs had absolutely no use for a shoot-first, second and third 34-year-old forward.

That was the time to trade Jamison, when it was clear that the Cavs were going to be rebuilding. Owner Dan Gilbert stubbornly tried to win games, however, and while the team was bad that kept the Cavaliers from trading Jamison for two entire seasons, at which point he left for nothing in free agency.