The Cleveland Cavilers Acquire Ben Wallace And Wally Szczerbiak

The Cleveland Cavaliers appear to have beaten the NBA's annual trade buzzer to get LeBron James some of the fresh help he's been openly craving.

In a three-way, 11-player trade with Chicago and Seattle that has been submitted for league approval, NBA front-office sources say that Cleveland will come away with four new teammates for James, headlined by Ben Wallace from the Bulls and sharpshooter Wally Szczerbiak from the Sonics.

The league office was notified of the deal before Thursday's 3 p.m. ET trading deadline, sources said, and is currently reviewing the trade details as required for formal approval.

After Cleveland watched two longstanding trade targets land elsewhere -- Mike Bibby in Atlanta and Jason Kidd in Dallas -- sources say that the deal calls for the Cavaliers to receive Wallace, Szczerbiak, Seattle point guard Delonte West, Chicago's Joe Smith and a future second-round pick from the Bulls.

The Bulls, apparently abandoning their gamble on Wallace less than two seasons into the lucrative four-year deal they used to sign him away from Detroit, would get Cavaliers forward Drew Gooden and swingman Larry Hughes along with Cavs reserves Cedric Simmons and Shannon Brown.

The Sonics, shedding Szczerbiak in the name of additional payroll flexibility, come away with the expiring contracts of Cleveland's Ira Newble and Chicago's Adrian Griffin as well as Cavs veteran Donyell Marshall.

This trade is terrible for the Cavs. When healthy, Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes were excellent shooters and scorers. Now, the Cavs acquired a center who doesn't do anything. Ben Wallace is one of the biggest disappointments this year and dead weight on the court. If anything, this trade gives the Bulls a better chance of competing in the playoffs.

Everyone Loves Michael Jordan...Some Perhaps A Bit Too Much

It's been well-documented that Michael Jordan likes the ladies. We knew he liked 'em young, but we didn't know he liked 'em crazy ... until now. According to this report, MJ was forced to file a lawsuit to stop a woman from harassing him over a claim that he fathered her now three-year-old son, a claim which has been refuted in two separate paternity tests.

Apparently Lisa A. Miceli refuses to take these tests seriously, as she's been (allegedly) bombarding Jordan with e-mails and phone calls since the second paternity test in 2005. Due to the fact that the messages have been "increasingly violent and threatening," Jordan filed the suit to get a court order to make the woman stop. Here's a sample of what's in the suit.

Miceli is accused of sending nearly 400 e-mails to Jordan and his representatives since Aug. 26, 2005. She has also placed hundreds of phone calls to his office and to his representatives, and left more than 200 voice-mail messages, according to the suit.

"The content of Miceli's e-mails, notes and telephone calls clearly demonstrates that she is a seriously disturbed individual," the suit reads.

The lawsuit alleges that Miceli, in one message, stated that she hopes Jordan would be murdered and "wiped off the (expletive) planet."

It Won't Be A Merry Christmas For Chicago Bulls' Coach Scott Skiles

Scott Skiles was fired Monday as coach of the Chicago Bulls, who have one of the worst records in the Eastern Conference. However, he didn't seem that disappointed about being fired now. Skiles told The Tribune that he wasn't bothered by being fired on Christmas Eve. "The fact that it's Christmas Eve is neither here nor there," Skiles told the newspaper. "The timing doesn't bother me. I'm not destitute."

The underachieving Bulls (9-16) have lost three of their last four and were booed throughout by the home crowd during Saturday night's 116-98 loss to the Houston Rockets.

Skiles' Coaching Record

With the Bulls sitting on the third worst record in the Eastern Conference, Scott Skiles is out of a job. Chicago fired Skiles on Monday, closing the second chapter of his NBA coaching career.

Year	Team	Record	Playoffs
2007-08	Chicago	9-16	?
2006-7	Chicago	49-33	6-4
2005-06	Chicago	41-41	2-4
2004-05	Chicago	47-35	2-4
2003-04	Chicago	19-47	None
2001-02	Phoenix	25-26	None
2000-01	Phoenix	51-31	1-3
1999-00	Phoenix	40-22	4-5

With three straight playoff appearances after a long postseason drought, the Bulls' expectations were soaring. Then, they dropped 10 of their first 12 games and they've been unable to capture the intensity that catapulted them into the second round of the playoffs last season.

They've lacked a consistent inside scoring threat the past few years, and now, their perimeter players are off target. Chicago is shooting a league-worst 41.3 percent, which partially explains why it hasn't been able to sustain a winning streak.

The Bulls didn't immediately announce a replacement for Skiles, who went 165-172 after replacing Bill Cartwright in November 2003.

The Chicago Bulls Are Really That Bad And The Boston Celtics Are Really That Good

Friday evening's Chicago Bulls At Boston Celtics contest really helped clarify for me which direction these teams are going. Bill Walton explained before the game how bad the Bulls were, but I couldn't believe it. They have Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, Ben Wallace, and other players who performed well last year. That's just it. Last year they were amazing. This year, these players are just names not living up to their standards. Ben Wallace just stands around the court or sits on the bench half the time. They can't shoot well at all. They take random, forced shots and miss them. They are near to last in all shooting categories, and watching them Friday night helped prove that.

Meanwhile, coming off a 1 game losing streak, the Boston Celtics were fired up. Paul Pierce scored 15 of his 22 points in the third quarter, going 4-for-4 from 3-point range in the period as the Celtics pulled away. Boston recovered quickly from Wednesday's last-second loss to Detroit, taking an early lead against the Bulls, never trailing and never surrendering its double-digit lead after scoring 10 consecutive points to make it 40-22 with 7:50 left in the first half. Boston led by as many as 22 points in the first half and ended up crushing the Bulls 107-82.

The Most Valuable Franchises In The NBA According To Forbes

Despite the struggles and antics of the New York Knicks on and off the court, they still remain the NBA's most valuable franchise for the third straight year, according to a list compiled by Forbes. The Knicks were valued at $604 million, up 3 percent from the previous year despite a spate of losing, an embarrassing defeat in a sexual harassment lawsuit, poor team chemistry, and continuing questions about the future of coach Isiah Thomas.

The NBA's marquee franchise also had a league-high $196 million in revenues for the 2006-07 season while topping the list with negative $42.2 million in operating income after going 33-49 and missing the playoffs.

A lot of the Knicks' success, money-wise, has to do with where they play. New York is the medulla oblongata of American culture and I am willing to bet that if the Knicks played anywhere else, people wouldn't waste their time and money watching this team. I would rank the circus as a slightly better tourist attraction, though the Knicks aren't far from that. The Knicks may have the most valuable franchise, but not the most valuable team

The Los Angeles Lakers decreased in value 2 percent, down to $560 from $568 million, but remained second on the list. I would suspect this is due to their recent lack of success and the other number of California teams available to watch. It can't be because of Kobe; he's probably the only reason why the Lakers draw in the money they do.

The Chicago Bulls were third with a value of $500 million and a league-best $59.3 million in operating income. Let's see how long this lasts with that amazing team of theirs who inexplainably can't win.

The Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets rounded out the top five.

The Cleveland Cavailers showed the biggest jump in value among the top 10 teams, increasing 20 percent to $455 million. They jumped from 10th to seventh. I believe two words are responsible for that: Lebron James.

Chicago Bulls Earn Their First Win!

In a very tough battle which came down to a missed 3 point shot at the end of the game, the Chicago Bulls were able to hang on as they defeated the Detroit Pistons 97-93. This victory marks the Bulls' first win in the 07-08 season and a very important and appropriate win. By beating the leading team in their division, the Bulls gained ground on the Pistons and forced them into a tie with the Pacers for first. Tyrus Thomas made the biggest impact for the Bulls with 19 points and 14 important rebounds to keep the ball out of the hands of the Pistons. I projected the Bulls to be in at least 2nd place in their division this year and tonights game reminded me to still believe in them.

Around the NBA 11.3.2007

• Forget Boston's big three, how about New Jersey's big three, Carter, Kidd, and Jefferson. Richard Jefferson is off to an extremely fast start scoring at will against anybody. Jason Kidd is Jason Kidd. Mr. Triple Double recorded his 88th career triple double last night.
  

• Gilbert Arenas wishes he could have a redo on the beginning of this season. After promising a win against Boston, he goes out and plays horribly while his team gets blown out by the Celtics. Then he comes back with a 5-15 performance scoring 10 points against the Magic.

• Al Harrington had himself a game last night. He scored 38 points on 15-20 shooting. If he can play like this, Golden State is going to have a hard time getting all their players minutes.

• The Chicago Bulls are off to a horrible start this season. They had a promising squad that many thought, including myself, they were going to compete for the Eastern Conference title. I know its only a few games, but still they look terrible. They need to get Ben Gordon going, and they need to find some offense. Their defense hasn't been the problem, they need to put the ball in the hoop.
  

Bulls Say No to Kobe

Here is an interesting story about Kobe's future from ESPN.com:

Chicago Bulls general manager John Paxson said that trade talks on Kobe Bryant with the Los Angeles Lakers have ended for now and downplayed the notion that the teams were ever on the verge of a deal.

"There's not a deal done," he said Thursday. "There's not going to be a deal done. All the things that were out there were really unfair to all of us who were trying to do our jobs. The misinformation ... I think gets in the way of the process. It's just such a complicated thing and we kind of put it to rest now."

Paxson said they discussed "parameters," but the sides "never got down to the nuts and bolts of it because there was never a deal to be done. That's the reality of it."

Comments:

I guess Kobe will have to suffer with the Lakers. I think they should worry about how to make a deal to get some talent around him, instead of trying to trade him away.