NBA Trade Deadline 2012: New Jersey Nets Acquire Gerald Wallace in Harmless Deal

After their hopes to acquire Dwight Howard vanished over the past 12 hours, the New Jersey Nets had to look elsewhere to improve their roster and have done so by trading for Portland Trail Blazers small forward Gerald Wallace, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

Certainly, this acquisition won't replace the void left by D12 staying in Orlando, but it does give New Jersey more depth and a better chance to compete and ultimately convince Deron Williams to stay.

It's been widely thought that Williams' decision to stay in New Jersey was riding heavily upon the team's ability to bring Howard in, but now "Plan B" is in full effect.

Wallace is averaging 13.3 PPG and 6.6 RPG during the 2011-12 season. Those numbers are a far cry from the ones Wallace posted in the 2009-10 campaign when he averaged a double-double (18 PPG, 10 RPG).

That could very well be a result of the turmoil that Portland has been going through, which was displayed by their no-show performance against the New York Knicks last night.

A change of scenery and insertion into New Jersey's talented starting five could be just the medicine for a struggling Wallace.

The Nets will send Mehmet Okur and Shawne Williams as well as a first-rounder to Portland. The pick will only be sent to the Trail Blazers if the New Jersey makes the playoffs. If not, the Nets keep the pick.

In all, this was a good step in the right direction for New Jersey. The Nets are getting a solid player who will improve their team for a few players on their roster that haven't contributed much this season.

Okur has only played in 17 games this season while Williams has seen only 25 games of action this year, both as a result of injuries.

New Jersey is only four games out of a playoff spot, and if they can make a run and surround their all-world point guard with enough talent, they can entice D-Will to stay.

Wallace will certainly help toward that goal.