Bulls involved in a blockbuster deadline-day trade….

For the record, this is the first time that Chicago has been involved in a deadline day trade since 1998.

The Bulls shipped Jason Caffey to the Golden State Warriors on February 19th, 1998 in exchange for David Vaughn (pictured w/the Orlando Magic) & a pair of second round draft picks in 1998 & 2000.

Those two draft picks turned out to be Shammond Williams & A.J. Guyton.

This time around, the Bulls decided to part ways with their $60 million center & a forward who might’ve been labeled as the team’s most consistent player.

Ben Wallace & Joe Smith were dealt today to the Cleveland Cavaliers in part of a 3 team, 11 player deal that will land Drew Gooden, Shannon Brown (Proviso East HS graduate), Cedric Simmons & Larry Hughes in Chicago.

Adrian Griffin’s expiring contract will go to Seattle along with Cleveland’s Ira Newble & Donyell Marshall.

Cleveland also got Wally Szczerbiak & Delonte West from Seattle in the deal.
Let’s discuss this trade…

Cleveland is currently locked into the #5 seed in the East & will most likely have a 1st round playoff matchup with Toronto. If the Cavaliers get past the Raptors, then a 2nd round series will most likely be looming with the Celtics, who hold the NBA’s best record at 41-11. Cleveland is 2-1 against Boston this season with the lone loss coming with LeBron James watching from the bench due to a sprained finger.

Cleveland definitely wanted to boost their offense with the additions of Szczerbiak & Smith. Among the 16 teams who would currently qualify to make the playoffs, the Cavaliers were the 2nd worst offensive team scoring just 97.2 PPG.

The loss of Drew Gooden will hurt Cleveland’s frontline (3rd best rebounding team in the league) but they are hoping that Wallace can add to 3 other Cavaliers who are averaging 8 rebounds or more per game. That trio consists of Zydrunas Ilgauskas (9.6 RPG), Anderson Varejao (8.5 RPG) & LeBron James (8.1 RPG).

Before this trade, Cleveland was ranked 26th in the NBA with a free-throw percentage of 72.2%, which won’t figure to improve with the addition of Wallace, who is a career 41.7% shooter from the foul line.

Daniel Gibson’s 2nd year emergence made Larry Hughes expandable.

Hughes has gotten the chance to play alongside some great superstars which include Allen Iverson, Gilbert Arenas & LeBron James. But now, he’ll be looked upon to play a bigger role in Chicago. Easier said than done though considering that his minutes, field goal percentage & points per game have decreased in each of his past 4 seasons.

Joe Smith could get the chance to start in Cleveland’s frontcourt unless the team plans to start both Wallace & Ilgauskas to present the Cavs with multiple second-chance point opportunities for their offense. Despite playing in just a shade under 23 minutes per game this season with Chicago, Smith averaged 11.2 PPG which is his highest output in 4 years. (Smith averaged 11 PPG during the ‘04-05 season with Milwaukee).

Cleveland gets a sharpshooting guard in Wally Szczerbiak, who can make defenses pay if they decide to double-team James. Szcerbiak is currently ranked 13th in the NBA with a three-point percentage of 42.8% & is on-pace to set a career-high in made three-point field goals. (Szczerbiak currently has 71 made three-pointers, his career-high is 87 set with Minnesota during the 2001-02 season.)

Delonte West will also have a chance for more minutes as Daniel Gibson’s backup. After averaging a career-high 12.2 PPG for Boston last season, West’s numbers have dropped off in almost every major category while being stuck as Seattle’s 3rd point guard behind both Luke Ridnour & Earl Watson.

The trade of Ben Wallace will lead to more playing time for both Aaron Gray & Joakim Noah, who have both averaged 9-15 minutes per game this season.

Even though Shannon Brown is from Chicago & played HS ball at Proviso East, he might not be in the Bulls’ long-term plans unless the team decides to part with either Chris Duhon (Unrestricted FA this summer) or Ben Gordon (Restricted FA).

The Bulls & Cavs will meet for the 1st time since their blockbuster deal on March 2nd from Cleveland, which will be televised on ABC.

Leave me your thoughts & comments on the trade! While i’m happy to see Ben Wallace & his oversized contract leave town, i will miss Joe Smith. He has quietly put together a good season for the Bulls, but at now they at least have a decent option in the low-post in Drew Gooden, which Chicago has been lacking ever since Eddy Curry got dealt to the Knicks.

Until then,

Mattie T

Sports Writer for BMS Radio Chicago

www.BMSRadio.com

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