Man, what a busy past couple of days this has been. According to Dwight Jaynes’ Twitter (I’m hearing that this guy is a good source. Adrian Wojnarowski has also mentioned a Wallace to Portland deal on his Twitter), Gerald Wallace will officially be a Trail Blazer by the end of the day…
Just got off the phone with an NBA source who says his team believes the Wallace-to-Portland deal is “done.”
Link.
I’m reading that Charlotte would receive Joel Przybilla’s expiring contract ($7 million), a draft pick or two, and some cash considerations. Gerald Wallace’s name has been being tossed around in lopsided trade rumors for a few years now, so I can’t say this really surprises me. The Bobcats will be saving money, and I think that’s their primary objective at this point. I honestly don’t feel that they’re saving enough money to make this worthwhile, though. Gerald Wallace only has one year and $10 million remaining on his contract after this season. That’s not at all unreasonable for a player of his caliber. One would think plenty of teams would be thrilled to add Wallace for that money, and they would be willing to give up more than just an expiring contract and what will likely be nothing but a decent first round pick (assuming it is Portland’s 2011 first rounder that is on the table).
Assuming this trade is finalized, I’ll update you later on. As with all salary dumps we’ll have to wait and see how Charlotte uses the cap space gained to give the trade a final judgement. At this point I can’t say that I think it’s a good call by MJ and company, though. As for Portland, well, this is a no-brainer… they lose next to nothing and gain a borderline All-Star level talent.
