[Drbio]

The NBA's trade deadline is a month away, but the most anticipated deal of the trading season could be completed by the end of the weekend, according to league sources.



Wallace



And if it goes through, Rasheed Wallace's checks will soon be cut by the Dallas Mavericks.


"I'd put the chances at 50-50 right now," said one source close to the negotiations. "We hope to find out tonight or tomorrow."


At the very least, sources say, Dallas and Portland are motivated to bring some sort of finality to their ongoing discussions instead of letting speculation continue to smother their players from now until the Feb. 19 trading buzzer. That resolution would come in the form of a trade that sends Antawn Jamison and Tariq Abdul-Wahad to Portland for Wallace or a decision by one or both parties to end the talks and attempt to move on with their seasons.


Saturday night's Dallas-Portland matchup at the Rose Garden gives all the power brokers involved a chance to meet face-to-face. For Dallas that's owner Mark Cuban, president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson and coach/general manager Don Nelson. For Portland that's owner Paul Allen, team president Steve Patterson and general manager John Nash. The clubs are scheduled to continue discussions before tipoff.


Wallace, who has missed the past four games with what's listed as a sprained left ankle, is not expected to play. Jamison is expected to play, although it's not inconceivable that he'll be held out. Jamison apparently surprised his coaches by playing through a bad flu bug in Friday's victory at Denver.


The Mavericks, according to sources, have made progress in their attempt to convince the Blazers to accept an offer of Jamison and Abdul-Wahad in exchange for Wallace, the controversial free agent-to-be who's earning $17 million in the last year of his contract. Even though Portland is said to be quite interested in Jamison -- intrigued by his potential frontcourt partnership with Zach Randolph -- taking on Jamison and Abdul-Wahad would run counter to the Blazers' long-running insistence that they will not accept a package of long-term contracts in a Wallace deal.


Various factors, however, apparently have softened Portland's position. Looking like a team that's clearly distracted by the threat of big changes, the Blazers are in the midst of a 1-7 skid and have slumped to 16-21, including a league-worst record of 2-15 on the road. It's the Blazers' worst mark after 37 games since 1976, when they sat at 13-24.


It's no secret that Portland's record run of 21 consecutive playoff appearances means a great deal to Allen, and trading Wallace a month before the deadline might be the Blazers' only means of saving their fast-slipping season. Another factor to make the Mavericks' package more palatable: ESPN.com has learned that the last two years of Abdul-Wahad's contract are only partially guaranteed -- 75 percent of his $7.3 million salary in 2005-06 and 50 percent of his $7.9 million in 2006-07. That could make Abdul-Wahad a decent trade asset in those seasons, even if he can't shake a long-term knee problem that has limited the Frenchman to 38 games the past two-plus seasons. Insurance payments already have covered a portion of Abdul-Wahad's wages in recent seasons because of the knee troubles.


On the flip side, it's not inconceivable that word of the Blazers and Mavericks closing in on a deal will spark improved offers from other teams. San Antonio is known to have a strong interest in Wallace and New Jersey had discussed a swap featuring Kenyon Martin for Wallace as far back as last summer. Sources say that Detroit, another club that would like to acquire Wallace, is out of the 'Sheed Sweepstakes for now, as the Pistons are unwilling to move any of their core players with no guarantee of re-signing Wallace in the summer.


To make a trade now, Portland will have to be convinced that the best player it gets in a deal (Jamison in this case) is better than the Blazers can hope to land in free agency in the summer of 2005. The increasingly serious nature of Portland's talks with Dallas undoubtedly stem from the fact that attractive offers for the temperamental Wallace have been scarce.


Atlanta's Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Cleveland's Zydrunas Ilgauskas have much friendlier contracts than Jamison's, but there are drawbacks with both as well. Abdur-Rahim, like Jamison, has never played a minute in the playoffs, but the Hawks' forward has also never played on a single winning team. Jamison, meanwhile, has enhanced his reputation somewhat by accepting a sixth-man role without complaint in Dallas in an effort to fit in with one of the league's top teams. Ilgauskas' contract, like Abdur-Rahim's, runs through 2005, which appeals to Portland because that's the summer the Blazers hope to reshape their roster. Yet there are still concerns about Ilgauskas' long-term health and mobility after years of foot problems, along with serious doubts that conservative Cavaliers owner Gordon Gund would be willing to put Wallace on the same team with LeBron James.


The Mavericks have their own hesitations. Trading Antoine Walker instead of Jamison probably makes more sense for Dallas, but sources say the Blazers aren't interested in Walker, even though Walker's contract also expires in 2005. Giving up Jamison instead, meanwhile, could give the Mavericks the most volatile chemistry they've had in years -- with Walker and Wallace on the same team -- and guarantees Cuban a very expensive summer.


Making this trade, as constituted, would leave Dallas with three max-contract players (Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley and Walker) and two of this summer's most coveted free agents (Wallace and Steve Nash). The Mavericks would also be risking the loss of Wallace without compensation in the summer, after billing Nowitzki and Jamison as their frontcourt tandem for the foreseeable future.


Of course, given Dallas' lackluster 23-16 start and the constant job-security speculation that the elder Nelson has been subjected to, there is virtually no chance the Mavericks would pass on a Wallace deal if Portland is ready. Wallace would instantly become the best defender on a club whose current aces in that department are rookies Josh Howard and Marquis Daniels, with Shawn Bradley and Eduardo Najera still plagued by injuries.


By all accounts, it's looking as though we're not going to have to wait another month to get some definitive answers about 'Sheed's future.

Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here. Also, click here to send a question for possible use on ESPNEWS.