When in doubt, go back to what works. For John Paxson, what works is trading with Isaiah Thomas. Time is likely running out for that, but I have to think the Knicks might actually consider taking on Wallace if we took sufficiently bad contracts back. So: Q Richardson and Malik Rose for Ben Wallace 1) It doesn't hurt the Bulls salary cap position, in fact it moderately helps because Rose expires next year. Q's contract is the same length as Wallace's. So we get a little bit of financial relief. 2) Rose is a solid locker room guy and that might help establish a semblance of normalcy. He'd hopefully play regular minutes but only short ones, thus opening up real time to "develop" Noah, Thomas and Gray. 3) Q is a mess, but he's a good guy at heart from everything I've seen. I'd basically tell him if he can lose 15-20 pounds he's got fair shot to be on the floor quite a bit for us, but in his present condition he's an upgrade to Wallace only because he's not going to be on the court. 4) Wallace can still be an effective player in the league, but he's got to have some strong personalities and the right situation (winning) to keep him useful. For the Bulls he's the opposite of useful both on the court and off.
The finances of this deal actually break pretty much even. If you include the luxury tax calculations, the Knicks probably pay an extra 300k this year and actually save about $3.6M next season. Then thay pay an extra $5.3M in 2009-2010. The Bulls save about $150k this year, spend an extra $18M next year, and then save $5.3M in 2009-2010. So it's a net savings, but a small one. Still, it's probably more than Ben would give in a buyout, and we get potentially useful players back. Granted, their utility is small, but the downside is pretty small too.
Might have been do-able two weeks or a month ago. But the Knicks are probably too far out from the playoffs now.
If there's anyone who would trade for Ben Wallace right now, it'd be zeke. I haven't looked at the salaries, but I would imagine the Bulls would have to take back Zach Randolph (who is currently on the Knick's trade block). If not...well I don't think Isiah is that stupid that he would have Curry, Randolph, and Wallace on his roster, would he?
