A Potential Dark Day In Bobcats History
So, the internet rumor reporters are spreading the word that the Charlotte Bobcats have nearly completed an agreement to trade Gerald Wallace to the Portland Trailblazers. The reports vary about what the Bobcats will receive in return.
We can only hope that the team will bring in some type of player that will outweigh the backlash that Jordan and Co. will face upon sending Wallace, an entertaining and respected fan-favorite, off to the Northwest.
Links To The Rumors :
NBC Sports – ProBasketballTalk Story
Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski Reports via Twitter
-Mike
UPDATE:
The barrage of rumors this afternoon were not followed by any confirmation, and now we have it on good authority that the Portland/Charlotte talks for Gerald Wallace are, in fact, dead. The Bobcats will not be sending Wallace to Portland for Joel Pryzbilla’s expiring contract in a salary dump.
Around 6:00 PM ET, we began seeing Tweets from various reporters that the deal was “not done” and that others had “jumped the gun” in reporting it as nearly done. Then word spread that Gerald Wallace was present and accounted for at an autograph session the Bobcats held this evening for season ticket holders (DJ Complete breaking news AND rockin the party!), making it highly unlikely that anything was going down tonight.
And just after 9:00 PM ET tonight, Rick Bonnell posted that the talks are indeed dead. I’ll note again, as I have before here, that Bonnell is careful and conservative when it comes to addressing stories like this. If he says it’s dead, it’s dead.
The implication here is that GM Rod Higgins was authorized to shop Wallace, but that Michael Jordan nixed this particular trade as the talks got serious. Maybe that frustrates teams looking to deal with the Bobcats — remember how public and how far along the talks with the Raptors (Diaw/Calderon) were this offseason before the Cats pulled away? But if Jordan gets a reputation as Mr. Cold Feet for nixing bad trades, then so be it.
The fact remains that Wallace and/or Jackson and/or Diaw are available, and that the Bobcats are considering dumping salary. But apparently they won’t make a bad trade just to do so.
-Dr. E
UPDATE #2:
Just as I was set to post this, here’s Mike Cranston via Twitter at 10:30 PM ET:
Talks between #Bobcats and #Blazers still ongoing. Lot of scenarios being discussed.
So much for “dead”. Look for this to go right up to the deadline Thursday at 3:00 PM.
-Dr. E
UPDATE # 3
2/24/11 – 4:30pm EST
Well, it looks like this morning’s report from the Observer gave us some hope that Gerald Wallace wouldn’t be moved by the deadline.
Then, this news pops up on ESPN.com – Gerald Wallace to Blazers
-Mike
We Should Do this trade instead:
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=5s4l4lh
In The Spirit of Such Players as Gerald Henderson…I Think CLT can explore Grabbing Players Terrence Williams or Mikael Pietrus, Ronnie Brewer (all rusting on their current team)…Young Players Who Can Easily Switch Between SG/SF (Jus Like Jackson/Wallace)…with Jackson (age, reputation and ability to help a contender: LAKERS/MAVS) being the bait…I Mean We DID want Terrence Williams in the Draft Right?
Nazr got traded for DJ WHITE and MO PETERSON!
Portland has been trying to get Gerald Wallace for the last couple years and they finally achieve this. All in all I think we got fair value in return for him. We got an expiring contract and a nice young 3/4 in Dante Cunningham. If anyone has seen Dante play in the league they know he is nice. He is a more aggresive Boris Diaw without the passing ability or post offense. He has loads of potential and is good athlete. Two first rounders will be between 20-25 most likely, which hopefully we can use to pick correctly. DJ White is a solid player and Mo Pete better than Matt Carroll.
Charlie – I strongly disagree.
I would argue that after Carmelo Anthony, Gerald Wallace was the next best small forward on the market. Look at how much NY had to give up to get Anthony. Now, consider what Portland had to shuck off to get Wallace. It’s disgusting.
The Bobcats are broke, and this deal is probably the most disheartening move to watch as a fan.
Thanks alot Bernie. Of course everyone knew he’s an asst. with the Blazers and loves Gerald like a son. This will make it very hard for Silas to win a playoff spot. He’s going to have to coach and educate four or five new guys and expect Henderson to hit needed 3’s and defend well without fouling which he’s not ready to do yet and we can’t afford to lose many games. To think I actually thought Wallace’s jersey might someday be retired in our building LOL. I actually dreamt that a statue of our warrior might be built outside the building in a few years. I’ve lost alot of respect for this organization and it owner.
Chris, would you respect the owner if he stood pat with a borderline playoff squad that was capped out and losing money hand over foot?
So, when will Jack demand a trade away from this rebuilding project. He’s gotta see a lot of the same things that happened in Golden State
1. Get a Center/Pg for Diaw (he is sought after by a few teams) (Dallas, Toronto, Orlando, Golden State)
2. OJ MAYO…simple. Memphis was goin to trade him away for basically nothing. Hendo is good but not quite starter material…
3. Maurice Evans or Terrence Williams (can back up Jackson for the remainder of his contract then start…both can play sg/sf…both are rotting on the benches…both are fairly cheap)…Azibuke, Roger Mason, Shawne Williams are also available
4. We got plenty of pieces (unproductive) Diaw, Livingston or Augustine (i think thats decent at pg…nobody else thinks so). Matt Carroll, Diop, McGuire, 2 1st rd picks for a WEAK DRAFT…
5. Stop Tryn to Get a MEGA STAR (Chris Paul) and give these players a chance
6. All these are possible and cost efficient. AND PRODUCTIVE.
7. Denver, Memphis, PHX, Portland, ATL (The Anti SuperTeams) are doin well bc of the group of guys meshing together.
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