NBA Rumors: Nets Close in on Gerald Wallace; Dwight Howard and Deron Williams Pose Game Changers
New reports have revealed that the New Jersey Nets have traded big in order to acquire Gerald Wallace from The Blazers.
Sources have confirmed that the New Jersey Nets have acquired Gerald Wallace from the Portland Blazers, in exchange for two other players and a first round pick. The move was made to satisfy Deron Williams, with the hope of adding legitimate talent.
Mehmet Okur and Shawne Williams will both go to the Blazers, and a first round pick if New Jersey makes the playoffs.
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Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports first confirmed the deal. New Jersey's new deal comes after it appears the Dwight Howard will stay with Orlando Magic. Howard had originally expressed interest in the New Jersey team and asked to be traded but later changed his mind.
The Nets and Orlando appear to be in a similar situation as both are attempting to acquire fresh talent in order to keep the star talent that is already on their team. Rumors suggested that Orlando had promised Howard a quality player, if he agreed not to opt out of the final year on his contract.
Deron Williams has already expressed his intention of opting out of his contract with the Nets when the season ends. With Howard out of the picture, the next best trade for New Jersey appears to be Wallace. Some still held doubts however, as to whether Wallace would be enough to keep Williams on the team.
"Wallace, who has a player option for $11.4 million next season in the final year of his contract, may not be the type of acquisition who makes Williams' decision to stay in New Jersey easy, but he's a step in the right direction," SB Nation reported.
The trading deadline will end Thursday, at 3 p.m.
