Jeff Kramer will join Beyond the Beat this month for a closer look at trade rumors surrounding the Portland Trail Blazers, and the lastest with the ongoing Collective Bargaining Agreement discussions with the NBA lockout looming. You can also read more from Jeff Kramer at his own site, Storyteller Contracts.

The Portland Trail Blazers were able to beat the trade deadline today by making a deal with the Charlotte Bobcats just before the noon (PST) cutoff, as the Blazers send Joel Przybilla, Dante Cunningham, Sean Marks, New Orleans’ 1st round draft pick in 2011 (received in an earlier trade for Jerryd Bayless) and another future 1st round draft pick to Charlotte for Wallace.

It will take some time to evaluate the impact of this trade on the performance of the Blazers on the court, but we can begin to evaluate now the impact of this trade on the financial/cap position of the franchise:

Ben Johnson is a former three-time All-PAC-10 shortstop at Oregon State University and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1990 MLB Draft. A four-time conference Coach of the Year in the Midwestern and Mt Hood Conferences while leading Sheldon High School and Hood River High School to conference championships, Johnson also coached at Willamette University and served as an Associate Scout with the Kansas City Royals. A featured baseball writer with Beyond the Beat, Johnson is also the creator of College Baseball Stars.com.

We knew entering the year that the Oregon Ducks, Oregon State Beavers and Portland Pilots were loaded with promising pitching prospects up and down the line-up card. 

UCLA has arguably the best one-two dynamic duo of any program in American, but it's hard to ignore the quality of arms that comprise the stable of stars for the three Oregon Division I Baseball programs.

Madison Boer earned official PAC-10 Pitcher of the Week honors after throwing a one-hitter over eight innings, giving the Ducks their first taste of victory in 2011 after dropping the first two games of a four-game series with Hawaii over on the islands.

Chris Dennis, the closer for the Pilots and a Pre-Season All-American candidate on many of the college baseball publications, started out with a bang in 2011.

The Oregon State Beavers, suffering through a hugely disappointing season, play their final home games this weekend when they tip off against Stanford on Thursday and against California on Saturday at Gill Coliseum.

The Beavers' effort and energy have been high all season, but coming off an 82-63 loss against the Ducks in Eugene last weekend, the Beavers need to get up early and produce points at a consistent pace against the Cardinal and Golden Bears.  At 4-10 in the Pac-10, and having won only 2 games in their last 12, the Beavers simply cannot afford to drop these final games in Corvallis.

Update: What was once cooled discussions between Charlotte and Portland heated up again as the NBA trade deadline drew to a close Thursday at noon.

According to multiple reports, Portland received Gerald Wallace, and sent Joel Przybilla, Dante Cunningham & 2 first round draft picks to the Bobcats. The Blazers have yet to confirm the trade, but will hold a press conference at 4pm.

One league source also told Beyond the Beat that Przybilla may explore buyout options on his contract with Charlotte and perhaps contemplate retirement. The Bobcats have not said either way what their intentions are with the veteran center, who was also the longest tenured member of the Blazers.

Cunningham had recently been rumored to be involved in trade scenerios with the Philadelphia 76ers, but his name slowed in discussions around the league until late Wednesday night. Word is, once Rudy Fernandez's agent Andy Miller let it be known his client would jump ship overseas if moved to Charlotte, Cunningham became the Bobcats backup plan.

The question now for Portland is, where exactly does Gerald Wallace fit in Portland's rotation. Will he come off the bench or slide into a starters role? It's a minor concern at this point - right now, Wallace is simply the newest member of the Portland Trail Blazers.

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Update: It appeared Wednesday afternoon that Charlotte Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace would be heading to Portland, but talks quickly cooled and are now deemed dead, according to The Charlotte Observer.

Writes Rick Bonnel, "If the Charlotte Bobcats and Portland Trail Blazers ever were close to a deal involving Gerald Wallace, those discussions are currently dead, according to a source familiar with the situation."

The Blazers have turned their attention to T.J. Ford, the Indiana Pacers 27-year-old point guard who has seen limited playing time this season. Ford carries an expiring contract worth $8.3 million, and The Indianapolis Star's Mike Wells writes on Twitter that "the Pacers have told Ford they will offer him a buyout if he's not traded by the deadline, which likely won't happen, according to a source." Portland is "expected to have interest in Ford when his contract is bought out", according to Wells. They would have to clear a roster spot in order to sign him. "Portland would pay [him] the minimum", according to The Oregonian's John Canzano.

Ford is averaging five points and three assists this season. He has averaged 11 points and six assists over his six-year career, but has battled injuries throughout.

"Portland is expected to deal point guard Andre Miller and center Marcus Camby before today's trade deadline," reports Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle. 

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Sitting at his locker, Nicolas Batum stopped thinking about Portland's overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers for a few minutes and started talking about what Thursday morning could bring for the Blazers.

Even Batum knows the NBA trade deadline expires at noon, and that Portland is officially on the clock.

So far, three Western Conference teams have sent marquee players to the Eastern Conference: Denver with Carmelo Anthony, Deron Williams for Utah and now the Los Angeles Clippers. They exchanged Baron Davis for Mo Williams according to multiple reports, with the two point guards swapping Cleveland and Clipperland area codes.

"With Carmelo, everyone knew something was going to happen. But when I woke up this morning and saw D-Will (Deron Williams) to New Jersey, everyone in the world was shocked," Batum told Beyond the Beat.

So, is Portland-Charlotte next?