NBA Experts Blog Cavs land James some help
By Adrian Wojnarowski

Thursday, Feb 21, 2008 4:05 pm EST
Finally, LeBron James has a supporting cast.

In an 11 player three-team blockbuster trade, the Cavaliers acquired Chicago's Ben Wallace and Joe Smith, Seattle's Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West before the trade deadline closed on Thursday, two league sources confirmed.

The Cavaliers sent Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, Shannon Brown and Cedric Simmons to the Bulls, and Donyell Marshall to the Sonics. Seattle also gets the expiring contracts of Chicago's Adrian Griffin and Cleveland's Ira Newble.

The trade marks the end of the Wallace experiment in Chicago, where the $60 million signing two years ago never fulfilled expectations. He'll try to revive his career alongside James, who has been desperate for an improved supporting cast. Smith, a 6-foot-10 forward, has been one of the Bulls' most consistent players, and Szczerbiak gives the Cavs a consistent outside shooting threat to go with Daniel Gibson.

I'm not sure if this deal makes a lot of sense.....Ben Wallace is a shadow of his former self.

anything to get wallace out of town. He was awful ever since he signed is contract.

so now they have another overpaid, declining player who can't shoot...only this one is always hurt.

Letting Wallace leave Detroit almost gives Dumars a reprive on the Darko draft pick. Almost.

Man, Seattle got nothing

Just Downsizing for the Move.

Yes he's on the downside of his career, but Wallace didn't fit in Chicago. Now he can play next to another legit big man like he did in Detroit with Rasheed. Plus I look for him to be more motivated now that he's back with a contender.

The only thing I'll miss is Larry's perimeter defense. I'm no fan of Drew Gooden's and I'm not sad to see him go.

It'll be fun to watch the Cavs play with only six, maybe seven, guys tonight.

Weren't the Bulls considered contenders until Ben helped drive that team into the ground?

Is it fair to blame Wallace for Hinrich, Gordon, and Deng having sub par years?

No, but it is fair to blame him for having a sub par year, and for his pathetic lack of leadership. He's the veteran on the team, he should be leading rather than getting into fights with rookies. You think it's just a coincidence that all of those guys are having a subpar year, all of a sudden?

Yup, I do. It's not Wallace's fault Deng had an injury...and Gordon is upset about not getting a contract extension.

In Cleveland he won't be asked to provide leadership or a "veteran presence." He just has to rebound, play defense, and stay out of LeBron's way on the offensive end.

I think they need to cut his minutes a bit. Cavs now have decent depth on the front line...so he doesn't really have to go all out for 30-35 mins a game.

He may not even start. They might bring him and Smith off the bench and start Z and Andy.

So then why was Ben moping around so much? Was he upset about Gordon's contract situation, too? If anything, their struggles should have made him play harder. The Bulls had more leadership from Noah than from Ben, and that is really, really pathetic.



I sure hope they don't expect any leadership or a veteran presence from him, because they'd probably be really disappointed.

Who cares? Maybe he was still pissed off about the head band incident. Maybe his dog died. Whatever the reason, it's irrelevant. One guy being upset doesn't affect 2-3 other players THAT much.

Not when their team is in desparate need of veteran leadership? Sorry, but those 2-3 players needed someone to set an example for them. They needed someone to step up and play through adversity. And sadly, Noah, a rookie, was the only one who did it. Why should anybody expect the younger players to show any resolve when the oldest, most seasoned player doesn't?

Look at Kobe Bryant. He had every opportunity in the world to mail it in, and it even looked like he would, but he didn't, and all of a sudden the Lakers don't suck anymore. Players who sucked last season no longer suck because they couldn't let down the guy who was playing his hardest despite the odds. Ben mailed it in even after being paid way more than he deserved.

the problem is when the bulls acquired ben wallace, they didn't have a low post threat to compliment him (like rasheed in detroit). Wallace doesn't score period, and provides no low post threat, it wasn't a very good match from the beginning. Thats why i think they missed out on the Gasol trade. It would have been interesting to see the Gasol and Wallace on the front court, but paxson didn't want to pay the luxury tax, and i don't really blame him. Wallace is also a huge asswipe.

because they're professionals? Sorry, these guys aren't rookies. Deng, Kirk, and Gordon have been around a while....if they let one player in a bad mood affect them that much, then THEY'RE the problem.


you lost me when you tried to compare one of the best players in the league to a glorified role player.