Gerald Wallace Traded To Blazers For Joel Przybilla, Picks

For more on the Bobcats, visit Rufus On Fire.

For more Blazers trade analysis, visit Blazersedge.

As of Wednesday afternoon, it looked like Gerald Wallace was well on his way to the Portland Trail Blazers in a trade. As of Wednesday night, the talks were dead. What happened to cause the talks to die? Were they even significant to begin with?

One report indicates that they died when the Bobcats tried to up the price for Wallace. Charlotte asked for small forward Nicolas Batum, who the Blazers have indicated is untouchable, and the Blazers predictably balked, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein.

Gerald Wallace appeared to be on his way to the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday, but it now appears that talks are cooling and no deal will take place. In fact, according to a report by Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, the talks are officially dead.

Reports yesterday indicated the Blazers were going to trade either Joel Przybilla and/or point guard Andre Miller, as well as draft picks and cash, to the Bobcats for Wallace. The move would have given Portland an upgrade as it pushes for the playoffs, while Charlotte would have saved long-term payroll and gotten out of the final two years and $21 million of Wallace’s contract. However, according to Bonnell, the talks happened much earlier in the season.

It appears that Gerald Wallace is headed to the Portland Trail Blazers, but the deal is not done yet and it remains unclear who the Charlotte Bobcats are receiving in return. One report indicated that the trade is centered around Joel Przybilla and his expiring contract, but another report by CBS Sports’ Ken Berger indicates the package is centered around point guard Andre Miller instead.

In either example, more players will need to be added to the trade package to match Wallace’ salary.

The 28-year old Wallace has two years and $21 million remaining on his contract, but was an all-star last season and is averaging nearly 16 points and over eight rebounds a game this season.

The Blazers would seem to be an odd fit for Wallace, given that he plays the same position as Batum, but the hope would likely be that Wallace can play some power forward in smaller lineups. Wallace could also improve their perimeter defense and provide a slasher that gets into the paint for easy baskets. However, his shot attempts at the rim have fallen dramatically this season.