The NBA trade deadline came and went, but not without a last second buzz that should make an impact on how the Eastern Conference plays out.

In an 11-player trade involving Cleveland, Chicago and Seattle, the Cavaliers acquired center Ben Wallace from the Bulls and forward Wally Szczerbiak from the SuperSonics, two players to possibly get James and the Cavs through the Eastern Conference and back to the finals.

The rest of the trade is pretty pointless, though Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes did end up in Chicago, and Seattle got a bunch of guys they don’t want, will dump at year’s end, and then move to Oklahoma City.

LeBron’s been saying he needs help, but c’mon: Is this really it? Big Ben’s good, sure, but he’s more of a defender than anything else, and hasn’t shown he’s much without the assistance of Chauncey, Rip and ‘Sheed. There’s two years left on his lucrative deal and, much like the Kidd-to-Dallas trade, this one may be questioned around that time.