Ben Wallace on the move?

Could Ben Wallace on the move soon? There's two games left for the Chicago Bulls before the all-star break and speculation is growing that these could be his last 2 games in the Windy City. The Bulls were originally talking with the Los Angeles Lakers about a trade but then the Lakers went after Pau Gasol instead. The two teams being most rumored right now are the Utah Jazz and the New York Knicks.

The Jazz rumor is more out financial need then getting a big man. A consideration is Andrei Kirilenko for Wallace. Sounds a lot like the Lakers and Miami Heat trades of the past few weeks where the talent didn't quite make sense going back and forth. But the reason is money of course, and Utah is (no matter how much i hate to use this term) a small market team. Kirilenko's contract has an extra season then Wallace's, including the last year being worth $17.8 million. In the long run the Jazz would save $21 million if they did that swap. And then would have more money available to re-sign star point guard Deron Williams, who is eligible for an extension this summer, and Carlos Boozer.

Now to the Knicks. ESPN had a report this past weekend of Wallace for Quentin Richardson, Malik Rose and Fred Jones. And there's no secret that Big Ben has told friends he wants to play in New York.

The Utah deal if it could ever happen would make the most sense for the Bulls as they'd get all-star talent that plays defense. Where the Knicks deal will left them dump Wallace off on someone and let Joakim Noah take over as the team's center full time.

Here is an article in the Chicago Tribune about this.