According to a report by ESPN.com, the Suns have agreed to trade Shaquille O’Neal to the Cavaliers for Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, $500,000 and the 46th overall pick.

The Cavaliers were also in talks with New Orleans about obtaining Tyson Chandler. If they had not made the trade for O’Neal, they would have traded for Chandler, according to a source.

The Cavs felt O’Neal was the better option because he has just one year left on his contract, and will not eat up cap space that will enable them to pursue free agents such as Chris Bosh in next summer’s star-studded free agent class. Chandler, who had injury problems last postseason, has a player option for $12.7 million in 2010-2011 that he is likely to pick up.

For the Suns, the O’Neal trade is a straight salary dump. Pavlovic’s $5 million dollar contract next season is only partially guaranteed for the amount of $1.5 million. Factor in the disparities in the contracts between Wallace, Pavlovic and Shaq and the team will save $4.5 million next season. However, when you factor in the savings they’ll reap on the luxury tax, it will be closer to $10 million in savings. That savings can be amplified if Wallace decides to retire and the Suns buy him out of his contract for less than the $14 million he’s owed next season.

The trade is a pretty strong admission by the Suns that the trade of Shawn Marion for Shaq in February of 2008 was a mistake. Marion was a free agent this summer and, had they let him walk, their savings would’ve been $21 million — not the $5.5 million they’re saving in this deal.

Our very own John Paulsen had this to say about the potential trade not two weeks ago…

What’s funny is that the Suns walked away from the negotiation table last season because they thought that a trio of Shaq, Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire could contend under new coach Alvin Gentry. Stoudemire got hurt, so what’s changed? It appears that the Suns are unwilling to pay the luxury tax price of keeping Shaq on the roster, that’s what.

This trade has the potential to set up some serious drama next season. Imagine a (hopefully) healthy and motivated Shaq joining LeBron in Cleveland. Assuming the Lakers win the Finals, Kobe and Co. will be seeking a repeat. Imagine Shaq and Kobe squaring off for a title next season…

Whether or not this helps Cleveland depends solely on Shaq’s ability to play at a high level deep into the postseason. If they do acquire him, they will need to watch his minutes closely and give him some time off during the season. Winning 66 games isn’t as important as having a healthy Shaq ready for the playoffs.

I like this trade for Cleveland, but Shaq wants another extension and he knows he’s not going to get it in Phoenix. It’s not necessarily a good idea for the Cavs either, as any extension for O’Neal means that they won’t be able to sign a big-name free agent next summer. But if they can rent Shaq’s services for a season and see how it goes, then maybe he could play himself into an extension with an NBA championship.

What do you think Cavs fans?

- SLAM ONLINE has sources that are saying that the Cavs and Rasheed Wallace are working on a two-year deal worth $20 million. The interest was prompted by the fact that Dwight Howard pretty much had his way in the paint against the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals. Wallace will be 35 this September, and has averaged about 12 points and seven boards over the last three seasons. He has the ability to spread the court with his shooting ability and has a reputation for doing a good job defensively on Howard, though the Orlando big man averaged 22 points and 15 rebounds in three games against the Pistons this season. If the Cavs do indeed sign Wallace that kind of a contract, it would trim the team’s projected 2010 cap space from $38 million to $28 million. Also, since the Cavs are over the cap, to make this deal happen, they would have to swing a sign-and-trade with Detroit (for Anderson Varejao?). If the deal falls through, SLAM says that the Cavs may move on to Zach Randolph. Wait…whaaa? 6/11 Update: The Cleveland Plain Dealer says that the Wallace rumors are untrue (and would be illegal if they were true).

- DESERET NEWS says that Carlos Boozer isn’t sure that he’s going to opt-out of the final year of his contract (that will pay him $12.7 million) by the end of the month. This contradicts everything he’s been saying up until this point. Maybe Boozer isn’t finding that the market for his services is as strong as he thought it was. It might behoove him to play out his contract, stay healthy (this is key) and join the free agent class of 2010. But by going that route, he will lose the security of a long-term deal. Devin Harris says that Boozer is welcome in New Jersey.

- The RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL reports that Ramon Sessions‘ first choice is to stay with the Bucks, but he understands that the club is up against the luxury tax so things are a little dicey. I think the Bucks will wait to see what kind of offer sheet he gets from another team and then decide whether or not they’ll match, though it would be wise to start negotiations now.

- The NEW YORK POST is reporting that the Knicks are eyeing Magic center Marcin Gortat for their mid-level exception. The Knicks are on the hook for about $24 million in payroll heading into the 2010-11 season, which means that they currently project to have roughly $34 million in cap space. If the Knicks use their mid-level this season, it will trim that space by about $6 million.

- Contrary to earlier reports, if his agent has any say, it’s going to be tough for Ben Wallace to retire, according to the NEWS-HERALD. It would be the best thing for the Cavs, but Arn Tellem isn’t going to let him walk away from $14 million.

Ben Wallace is considering retirement, Anderson Varejao is likely to opt out of the final year of his contract, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas will play out the final year of his.

Wallace is guaranteed the money and has every right to come back and accept the checks under terms of the deal. More likely if he couldn’t play, the Cavs would look to perhaps get insurance to cover some of the salary and look to trade him. He’d be a valuable commodity because of the expiring contract and teams looking to dump salaries covet them.

There is also a possibility that Wallace could negotiate a buyout of his deal and take a percentage of what he’s owed. But even in that case it would potentially make him a huge trade asset. A team could trade for him at the value of his contract ($14 million) and then save money by buying him out.

I’m not quite an NBA salary cap expert, but I have a pretty good understanding of the rules. Even so, I’m not sure what the financial impact would be of what Wallace is considering. Without Wallace and Varejao, but with Ilgauskas, the Cavs are on the hook for about $53 million, possibly a bit less since there are a few contracts included that aren’t 100% guaranteed. If Wallace were to come completely off the books, that would put the Cavs about $5 million under the cap, which really doesn’t help them all that much since they can already sign a player at the mid-level for about $5.8 million. Where a team really gains an advantage is when they have substantially more than the mid-level in cap space.

Wallace could be a great trade asset with his giant salary and willingness to take a buyout. The Cavs could use that trade chip to pry a good player away from a team looking to cut salary. Typically, these aren’t going to be franchise-type players; they’re going to be overpaid stars. Think Michael Redd or Vince Carter, not Dwyane Wade or Chris Paul. Speaking of the Hornets, they tried to give Tyson Chandler away last season and the Cavs would be a good trade partner if they were thinking about finding a better matchup for Dwight Howard next year. The bottom line is that in this economy, the Cavs are in a position of strength because they are motivated to spend.

As for Varejao, he may find that passing on next year’s guaranteed salary of $6.2 million may be a mistake. He’s not going to find anyone willing to pay him the $10 million per season that his camp seems to want, but there is probably a team out there that will give him the security of a four- or five-year deal at the mid-level. He’ll probably be giving up the chance to play for a contender, and may find himself out of the limelight that follows LeBron everywhere he goes. This can be both a blessing and a curse.

Ilgauskas playing out the final year of his contract is no surprise. He’s 33, and he isn’t going to find anyone else to pay him the $11.5 million that the Cavs owe him for next season.

One thing is for sure — Cavs GM Danny Ferry is on the hot seat.

The economy is really starting to take its toll on professional sports, and the NBA is no different. Bad contracts are bad even when the economy is pumping, but they really stand out in tough times like these. So I decided to look through the payrolls team-by-team to try to identify the worst contracts in the NBA. I expected to list 15-20 names, but I ended up scribbling down 68. That’s right, there are no fewer than 68 bad contracts in the NBA.

I didn’t include any of the players that are in the final year of their contracts because…well, what’s the point? They’ll be off the books in a few months anyway. Instead, I wanted to focus on those contracts that are going to haunt teams for years to come, so to be eligible, players have to have at least a year left on their current deals.

It’s tough to compare someone making superstar money to an average, everyday role player, so I split these 68 contracts up into three groups: the Overpaid Role Players, the Not-So-Super Stars and the Injury-Prones. I will rank them from least-worst to most-worst with the thinking that I wouldn’t trade the player for anyone further down the list but I would trade him for anyone previously mentioned. So, for example, if a guy is listed #7 within a particular group, I’m not trading him for anyone ranked #6-#1, but I would think seriously about moving him for a guy that is ranked #8+.

So let’s start with the role players and go from there…

(Note: In most cases, I don’t blame the player himself for his outrageous contract. The fault lies with the general manager that inked the guy to the deal. However, this rule goes out the window if the player has a history of only producing in his contract year – I’m looking at you, Tim Thomas.)

THE OVERPAID ROLE PLAYERS

Guys That I Wouldn’t Mind Having On My Team

36. Shane Battier (two years, $14.3 million)
6.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg
I know he’s supposed to be the “no-stat MVP,” but $7 million per season seems like a lot to pay for a defensive specialist who only gets 0.7 steals per game. Plus, when he shaves his head, you can almost see his brain.

35. Jason Maxiell (four years, $20 million)
5.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg
Maxiell’s Player Efficiency Rating (15.79) is above average. But why pay the guy if you aren’t going to play him?

34. Andres Nocioni (three years, $21.0 million)
10.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 41% FG%
Nocioni can ball, but $7 mil a season is a steep price to pay for 11 and 4. We’ll see if he blossoms now that he’s outside of Luol Deng’s shadow.

33. Nick Collison (two years, $13.2 million)
7.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg
You’d think this guy would have a killer 18-footer by now.

32. Ronny Turiaf (three years, $12.5 million)
5.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg
He plays hard, but any number of guys in the D-league and overseas that can do what he does at a fraction of the price.

I Only Want Him On My Team In A Contract Year

31. Tim Thomas (one year, $6.5 million)
9.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg
“Tiny” Tim is the poster boy for guys that only produce when they’re playing for a new contract. Ernie Grunfeld, GM of my beloved Bucks, signed him back in ’00 to a six-year deal worth $68 million and then, six underachieving years later, the Clippers were so enamored with his performance against them in the playoffs that inked him to a four-year deal worth $24 million. This clown has a career average of 11.7 points and 4.2 rebounds and he has made more than $84 million thus far. Sorry, I have to go throw up…

…okay, I’m back.

The Expiring Contracts

30. Darko Milicic (one year, $7.5 million)
6.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg
29. Mike James (one year, $6.5 million)
8.6 ppg, 3.2 apg
28. Antonio Daniels (one year, $6.6 million)
4.4 ppg, 2.8 apg
27. Earl Watson (one year, $6.6 million)
6.0 ppg, 5.7 apg, 37% FG%
26. Tony Battie (one year, $6.3 million)
4.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg
25. Brian Cardinal (one year, $6.8 million)
2.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg
24. Etan Thomas (one year, $7.4 million)
3.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg
23. Mark Blount (one year, $8.0 million)
3.9 ppg, 1.8 rpg
22. Jerome James (one year, $6.6 million)
3.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg
21. Kenny Thomas (one year, $8.8 million)
0.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg
20. Bobby Simmons (one year, $11.2 million)
8.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg
Expect to hear “__________’s expiring contract” a lot next February. Seriously, these guys will be involved in all sorts of trade scenarios, but in this economy, most teams will just hold onto them and let their salaries come off the cap. What’s sad is that most of these guys are useless, yet they’ll make more in one season than most of us will in our lifetimes.

Great, now I’m depressed.

All They Can Do Is Shoot, But That’s Something

19. Jason Kapono (two years, $12.9 million)
8.4 ppg, 2.1 rpg
18. Sasha Vujacic (two years, $10.5 million)
5.7 ppg, 1.6 apg
17. Daniel Gibson (three years, $12.5 million)
8.1 ppg, 38% FG%
16. Vladimir Radmanovic (two years, $13.4 million)
10.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.6 apg
15. Morris Peterson (two years, $12.2 million)
5.4 ppg, 2.1 rpg
After signing a three-year deal, setting himself up for life, Vujacic’s shooting numbers have dropped eight percent from the field and almost nine percent from three-point range. (Like he needed to be more annoying.) And I don’t think the Cavs had 38% shooting in mind when they inked Boobie to a long-term deal; the play of Delonte West has made Gibson expendable. As for Radmanovic, he is arguably the worst defender in the league. Really. Just watch him on that end of the court sometime. He’s totally lost. His awareness in NBA 2K9 should be zero.

One Good Year Does Not a Starting Point Guard Make

14. Marcus Banks (two years, $9.4 million)
2.7 ppg, 1.3 apg
13. Beno Udrih (four years, $26.7 million)
10.9 ppg, 4.3 apg
12. Marko Jaric (two years, $14. 7 million)
1.8 ppg, 0.9 rpg, 27% FG%
Sure, Udrih is overpaid and the Kings were dumb to sign him long-term. But the guy can run an offense and that’s still something. But I wonder — does Marko’s new bride (Victoria’s Secret model Adriana Lima, pictured below) know that he’s not getting any minutes for one of the worst teams in the league? Does she care? Does he care?

After looking at that picture, do I care?

The Not-So-Special Specialists

11. Reggie Evans (two years, $10 million)
2.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg
10. Jared Jeffries (two years, $13.4 million)
4.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg
Here we have the Rebounder and the Defender. Too bad that’s all either guy can do. Jeffries is a poor man’s Battier. (I don’t really know what that even means.)

The Big Stiffs

9. Darius Songaila (two years $9.3 million)
6.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg
8. Joel Pryzbilla (two years, $14.3 million)
5.2 ppg, 8.1 rpg
7. Erick Dampier (one year, $12.1 million)
5.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.3 bpg
6. Nazr Mohammed (two years, $13.4 million)
2.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg
5. Dan Gadzuric (two years, $14.0 million)
3.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg
Now that’s a list of overpaid backup centers. The Bucks drafted Andrew Bogut in June 2005 then sign Gadzuric to a long-term deal two months later. How does this make sense? Since when does being seven-foot and being able to get up and down the court in a reasonable amount of time entitle you to a multi-million dollar contract?

What In the World Were They Thinking?

4. Jamaal Tinsley (two years, $14.9 million)
No stats in 2008-09
The Pacers have been trying to get rid of Tinsley for a while now but they can’t find any takers. I wonder why…

3. Matt Carroll (four years, $16.4 million)
3.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 39% FG%
The Mavs had to take on Carroll’s brutal contract to get rid of the #1 guy on this list, so this is actually an improvement for Mark Cuban. Carroll is proof positive that if you can average double-digit points in your contract year for one of the worst teams in the league, you can parlay that into a deal worth $20 million. Right place, right time…

2. Luke Walton (four years, $21.6 million)
4.9 ppg, 2.5 apg, 2.5 rpg
I’m of the school that Luke wouldn’t have signed this big of a contract if his last name wasn’t “Walton.” Hell, if not for that family name, I’d argue that he wouldn’t even be in the NBA. He’s a 6’8” white dude who can’t shoot but I’m told that “he knows how to play the game.” Seriously, there are a half a dozen guys like that in my rec league (and they can shoot it better than he does).

1. DeSagana Diop (four years, $26.8 million)
3.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.8 bpg
How does a guy that has never averaged more than 3.3 points or 5.4 rebounds a game get a five-year deal worth $31 million? He’s a great shot-blocker, you say? His career high in blocks is 1.8 – that’s worth $6 million per season? Really? I thought America was a meritocracy…

THE (NOT-SO-SUPER)STARS

18. Vince Carter (two years, $33.6 million)
20.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 4.8 apg
Is he playing well? Absolutely. Is he worth every penny? Not so much. The Nets couldn’t give him away at the trade deadline.

17. Richard Jefferson (two years, $29.4 million)
18.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.4 apg, 43% FG%
He’s helped the Bucks stay competitive, but the franchise is in dire financial shape. He’s worth $10-$11 mil per season, not $15 million.

16. Rashard Lewis (three years, $58.7 million)
18.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg
Yes, he’s overpaid, but at least he can shoot – and he’s perfect for what Orlando wants to do.

15. Mike Dunleavy (two years, $20.4 million)
15.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.4 apg
Mike, Jr. finally lived up to his bloated contract last season and then he got hurt. Perfect. Man, it’s been a rough year for the Dunleavys.

14. Antawn Jamison (three years, $40.1 million)
21.6 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 2.0 apg
It’s hard to know how bad this contract will look in a year or two. He’s still producing, albeit for a bad team.

13. Andrei Kirilenko (two years, $34.3 million)
12.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.0 apg
This contract has looked awful for a long time now. He inked his deal before the arrival of Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams and the Jazz have been counting the minutes since.

12. Troy Murphy (two years, $23.0 million)
13.9 ppg, 11.8 rpg
Call me crazy, but at essentially the same price, I’d rather have Murphy for two years than the next guy for five.

11. Emeka Okafor (five years, $62.5 million)
14.1 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 1.7 bpg
Welcome to cap hell, Charlotte.

10. Andre Iguodala (five years, $68.6 million)
18.0 ppg, 5.4 apg, 6.0 rpg
Don’t get me wrong – Iggy is a solid player. Just not $13.7 mil-per-season solid.

9. Luol Deng (five years, $61.7 million)
14.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.9 apg
A 14/6 guy is worth $12 mil a year? Really? Someone call Drew Gooden and tell him he’s in for a payday this summer. (Relax, Bulls fans, at least Deng is just 23.)

8. Kirk Hinrich (three years, $26.5 million)
9.4 ppg, 4.2 apg, 43% FG%
What happened to him? His career was on the slide even before Derrick Rose came to town. This is a guy that is in desperate need of a change of scenery.

7. Larry Hughes (one year, $13.7 million)
11.9 ppg, 1.9 apg, 2.9 rpg
6. Ben Wallace (one year, $14.0 million)
3.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.4 bpg
Hey, at least these ridonkuous contracts only last one more year. I am sick and tired of talking about how they’re overpaid.

5. Stephen Jackson (four years, $35.6 million)
21.1 ppg, 6.4 apg, 41% FG%
4. Corey Maggette (four years, $39.7 million)
19.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg
While Jackson’s numbers are decent, he’s a volume shooter and he’s already 30 – imagine how bad this contract is going to look in a couple of years. The same goes for Maggette. Don’t forget that playing in Golden State inflates those numbers. Geesh!

3. Baron Davis (four years, $53.8 million)
15.3 ppg, 7.9 apg, 3.5 rpg, 36% FG%
I wonder if the Clips want a do-over. Davis is a good player, but not $13.5 million-per-year good. What’s sad is that I really like watching Davis play. He should be playing for a contender. Elton Brand really did a number on this guy.

2. Zach Randolph (two years, $33.3 million)
21.8 ppg, 10.5 rpg
Don’t be fooled by those numbers. Randolph is a $9 million-per-year player in a $16 million-per-year contract. He makes a killing scoring and rebounding for terrible teams.

1. Peja Stojakovic (two years, $27.7 million)
13.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg
Sure, he’s averaging almost 14 points per game, but he’s shooting just 40% from the field. This trade actually forced the Hornets to try to give their third-best player, Tyson Chandler, away. Since they acquired Peja, New Orleans has had absolutely no cap flexibility. This is the move that may ultimately keep the Hornets out of the Finals, at least for the next couple of seasons. They rolled the dice that Peja could still shoot and it came up snake eyes.

THE INJURY-PRONES

14. Shaquille O’Neal (one year, $21 million)
18.2 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 1.5 bpg
Yes, he’s having a good year, but he’s not worth $21 million. While the next guy is the better center, at least Shaq has proven he can take a team to the Promised Land. The Cavs may ultimately regret not adding him at the expense of Wally Szczerbiak and Sasha Pavlovic at the trade deadline.

13. Yao Ming (two years, $34.1 million)
19.8 ppg, 9.6 rpg
Don’t get me wrong – Yao has a great game. I love it. But I don’t think you can build around a guy who has missed more than a third of his games in the last three seasons. And his foot problems are only going to get worse, right?

12. Nene Hilario (three years, $33.5 million)
14.8 ppg, 7.9 rpg
He’s productive when he plays, but this guy is an injury waiting to happen. Prior to this season, he missed 40% of Denver’s games over his first six years.

11. Andrew Bogut (five years, $60.0 million)
11.7 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 1.0 bpg
I like Bogut’s hard-nosed style, but it seems to be taking its toll on his body. He has missed more than a quarter of his games over the past three seasons. Now he has back pain — that’s easy to fix, right?

10. Jason Richardson (two years, $27.8 million)
17.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.2 apg
J-Rich is a solid player. Just not $13.9 mil-per-season solid.

9. Michael Redd (two years, $35.3 million)
21.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.7 apg
Over the last three years, Redd has missed 36% of the Bucks’ games. I think it’s safe to say he’s injury-prone. I do love this former second round pick, but he’s not living up to his contract. I want to see an efficent, 18+ point season with the Bucks getting out of the first round of the playoffs. Then I’ll be happy.

8. Jermaine O’Neal (one year, $23.0 million)
13.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg
In the previous four seasons, O’Neal has missed 37% of his team’s games. Wowsers. The guy still has skills, if he can only stay upright.

7. Tracy McGrady (one year, $22.5 million)
15.6 ppg, 5.0 apg, 4.4 rpg, 39% FG%
One more year and the Rockets will be able to free themselves from this albatross of a contract. Remember when people used to argue about who was the better shooting guard – Kobe or T-Mac? That seems like such a loooooong time ago.

6. Kenyon Martin (two years, $32.2 million)
12.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg
Hey, at least K-Mart is healthy and contributing! (Nugget fans know what I’m talking about.) Martin has one of those contracts that was untradeable the moment he signed it. Then he played a total of 58 games in the ’05-’06 and ’06-’07 seasons. Believe me, Denver fans are happy for the 12 and 6.

5. Samuel Dalembert (two years, $25.1 million)
6.3 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 1.8 bpg
As time goes on, this contract looks more and more ridiculous.

4. Elton Brand (four years, $66.2 million)
13.8 ppg, 8.8 rpg
Methinks the basketball gods are giving Elton a little payback for leaving Baron Davis high and dry. Karma is a bitch.

3. Eddy Curry (two years, $21.8 million)
2.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg
A 6’11” center who can’t rebound or stay healthy? Great. His game has such a bad rep that he’s been unmovable for years.

2. Monta Ellis (five years, $55 million)
13.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.8 apg
Yet another bright career gets derailed by a wild moped ride in Mississippi. How many times does this happen before we all stand up and say “NO” to Mississippi moped rides?

1. Gilbert Arenas (five years, $96.4 million)
No stats in 2008-09
To think, the Wizards actually seemed happy to be getting Agent Zero at a “hometown discount.” But who exactly were they bidding against? If he doesn’t return to his All-NBA form, the franchise will be hamstrung for years to come. This is yet another Ernie Grunfeld gem.

6/16/09 Update: For discussion about the more recent Shaq rumors, click here.

6/25 Update: Shaq has been reportedly traded to Cleveland.

The trade deadline is at 3 PM ET today, and the rumors are flying fast and furious. I’m not going to spend too much time on each one, but here’s a rundown of the rumors…

- Yahoo! Sports says that the Cavs are considering acquiring Shaquille O’Neal at the cost of Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic. I’m not sure what the upside is here for the Suns other than the fact that they’d get about $5 million in cap relief next season when Pavlovic’s salary comes off the books.

- The NBA league office apparently sent out a memo warning of drastic reductions in the salary cap and luxury tax thresholds, which may have a few teams scrambling today.

- There was some talk of a Tracy McGrady-for-Baron Davis deal, but that rumor seems to be dead.

- The Suns are reportedly still trying to pry talent away from the Grizzlies, offering up Amare Stoudemire for Mike Conley, Rudy Gay, Hakim Warrick and a 2009 first round draft pick. Unsurprisingly, the Grizzlies have declined.

- The Bucks are trying to get out from under Richard Jefferson’s contract and they’ve been making some headway with the Blazers and Cavs about Raef LaFrentz and Wally Szczerbiak, respectively.

- The Cavs have been trying to pry Antwan Jamison away from the Wizards, who might be more willing to deal today with the news about the (possible) significant drop in the luxury tax threshold.

- The Vince Carter-to-the-Spurs talk has died down because they don’t want to give up Roger Mason or George Hill in the deal. Apparently, they want the Nets to give Carter away.

Deadline day is like a poker game with 20 people playing. Teams are holding out until the last minute hoping that they can get the best deal. Complicating matters is the state of the economy and the financial strength of the NBA. There could be a flurry of trades today or everyone could stand pat.

The Magic will get three All-Stars—Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis now as well as starting center Dwight Howard—but the Cavs, despite having the best record in the NBA, will only send LeBron James.

Really, it came down to Nelson or Williams, and Mo first and foremost didn’t want to take anything away from his colleague.

“Congratulations to him,” Williams said with a smile. “He deserves it, but there’s only a certain amount of players that can play.”

“You want me to tell you like it is?” Williams chuckled. “Then I’ll tell it like it is. It’s a tragedy. How many players get into the game, and how many players did the Magic get in? They’ve got three players, and we’ve got the best record. Not just in the Eastern Conference, but in the whole league… Best team in the world, and we got one player.”

The guy’s got a point, and [Ben] Wallace’s got his back.

“He took us from a team that was on the verge of competing for a championship to making us a legit championship contender,” Wallace added.

I disagree with Wallace that Williams is the main reason that the Cavs are playing as well as they are (or were, before getting trounced by the Magic last night). LeBron has returned from his stint with Team USA with a focus on defense, and that has translated to the rest of the team. He even has Williams gaining a rep for being a decent defender, which is something that has plagued him throughout his career.

Here are the YTD stats for Williams and Nelson:

Williams: 16.92 PER (#16 PG), 17.0 p, 4.1 a, 3.3 r, 0.8 s, 47% FG, 38% 3PT, 94% FT

Nelson: 20.94 PER (#4 PG), 16.9 p, 5.3 a, 3.4 r, 1.2 s, 51% FG, 45% 3PT, 88% FT

The two players are essentially the same in points and rebounds. Mo has an advantage in free throw percentage, but Jameer has a big advantage in assists, steals, FG% and three-point accuracy. Moreover, Williams plays an extra two minutes per game, so he has more time to post stats. Clearly, from the Player Efficiency Rating, Nelson is the far more productive and efficient player.

Williams has also come up fairly small in the Cavs’ three “marquee” games this season. He shot 6-16 in a bad loss against the Lakers on Jan. 19 and posted just 13 points and one assist against the Celtics on Jan. 9. That trend continued after the reserves were announced when he shot just 4-15 from the field against the Magic last night.

So this comes down to how many players elite teams should get on the All-Star team. I actually think that Mo is more deserving than Rashard Lewis, but that Nelson is more deserving than Williams. But this probably has to do more with LeBron than anything. He is viewed as a one-man wrecking crew and that will automatically discount the contributions of his teammates. Throw in the fact that Allen Iverson was voted in by the fans and it was obvious that someone was going to get screwed. It happens every year.

Williams has a gripe, but Jameer Nelson deserves to be an All-Star, there’s no doubt about that.