Still some deals pending league approval, but let’s get you caught up:
The blockbuster Brian Windhorst alluded to in his blog this morning has Big Ben Wallace going to Cleveland. A few versions of this deal are circulating, with the latest having Chris Duhon joining Wallace in Cleveland for a package featuring Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes.
Seattle had been discussed as working on a complementary deal sending Cold Spring Harbor’s Wally Szczerbiak to Cleveland for expiring contracts. Now those deals reportedly have been merged into a three-team swap.
It’s a fluid situation – even though the deadline has passed, details will be filtering out for the next couple of hours and league approval is required. I spoke with Gooden’s agent, Calvin Andrews, about 90 minutes before the deadline and he hadn’t heard word one about his client being on the move. He conceded the obvious, that any major deal Cleveland would be involved in had to include Hughes, who has two years and $26.5 million left on his contract.
I also spoke with Big Ben in the visiting locker room Wednesday night before the Bulls-Nets game, and he was pretty convinced he wouldn't get traded. Surprise!
Funny how two Long Island guys get sucked into the pre-deadline vortex over the last hour or so, with Amityville’s Mike James being the other, going from Houston to New Orleans. There are only three native LIer’s active in the NBA – Hofstra’s Speedy Claxton (Hempstead) is the other – and two of them are getting traded today. Hmmm.
Stay tuned for more details on this Cavs deal as they come out, plus some news on other trades that are in the works …