According to Marc Stein, the Cavs and Bulls were talking before the trade deadine about making a major deal.
Two of my most plugged-in sources say that the big trade Cleveland is pursuing, as our good friend Brian Windhorst warned us about in his Akron Beacon Journal blog, is a multiplayer exchange that would bring Ben Wallace to the Cavs.
We have not been apprised that any deal is close nor have we received a reliable read on the Bulls’ level of interest, but we have been assured that it is being discussed: Wallace and teammates Chris Duhon and Joe Smith heading to Cleveland in exchange for a package headlined by Drew Gooden … and Larry Hughes.
It also could be done with several other Cavs in Hughes’ place, so we’ll have to see if the Bulls simply pass, push for an alternative scenario or accept Hughes and allow Cleveland to proceed to Part 2.
Cleveland’s other 11th-hour trade target to hearten LeBron James, after Jason Kidd and Mike Bibby landed elsewhere, is Seattle’s Wally Szczerbiak, who holds appeal for LeBron’s Cavs as a deadeye shooter and as a college-ball legend in Ohio.
It appears that the Cavs’ preference is scoring Wallace first and then trying to add Szczerbiak. But the Cavs’ usual obstacle — they have only three expiring contracts (Ira Newble, Devin Brown and Shannon Brown) totaling not even half of the $13.3 million owed Wally next season to package with Donyell Marshall — makes a successful play for Wally difficult even if the Wallace stuff doesn’t go any farther.
We haven’t heard anything yet, but it’s possible that a trade is indeed complete. It takes time for the league to approve the deal and for the news to break.
If the trade with Chicago went through as described – Wallace, Duhon and Smith for Gooden and Hughes – it would be close to a wash salary wise. Both Wallace and Hughes have bad contracts that expire in two more years. In Duhon, the Cavs would get a solid point guard who can shoot the long ball. Still, I don’t like this trade for the Cavs. Gooden is a capable inside scorer while Wallace’s productiion has dipped; he’s posting 5.1 points and 8.8 rebounds, while shooting a dreadful 37.3% from the field. He is 33 and it appears that he has hit a wall. The trade doesn’t provide any salary cap relief, either.
The Szczerbiak deal is a little more interesting, though he and LeBron play essentially the same position. When he feels like it, LeBron is capable of guarding a shooting guard, so he and Wally could see court time together. With Szczerbiak and Gibson spacing the court, defenses would be hard pressed to double LeBron.
