Paul Beaty / AP

Ben Wallace will bring rebounding and defense to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers will be the eighth team for the well-traveled Smith, a 32-year-old veteran averaging 11.2 points and 5.3 rebounds. Smith brings the Cavaliers experience and versatility up front.

Gooden, too, can boost Chicago’s inside game. The 26-year-old is averaging 11.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per season.

It’s unusual for two teams in the same division to swap key players and the Cavaliers and Bulls haven’t played yet this season. They’ll meet for the first of four games on March 1 in Cleveland.

Szczerbiak, who was part of the draft day trade that sent Ray Allen to Boston for the No. 5 pick — Jeff Green — and West, added scoring punch in a reserve role for the rebuilding Sonics.

He averaged 13.1 points, second behind rookie sensation Kevin Durant, and consistently showed he was fully recovered from offseason ankle surgery. In his final game with Seattle on Tuesday, Szczerbiak scored 24 points, including the go-ahead basket with 31 seconds remaining in a victory over Memphis.

Szczerbiak should get plenty of open looks in Cleveland. With more and more defenses double- and triple-teaming James, the club needs perimeter players capable of making outside shots consistently — something Hughes couldn’t do.

“When you have a superstar like LeBron James, it’s important to be able to put shooters around him,” Ferry said. “When you have guys who make the extra passes, having somebody to knock down that shot is big.”

West never found a spot in Seattle’s rotation. Nagging foot injuries shuffled him farther down the bench, and when coach P.J. Carlesimo finally settled on a rotation, West was often the odd man out.

The 24-year-old could develop into the quality point guard the Cavs have coveted since James arrived.

The dealing by young GM Sam Presti only adds to the flexibility the Sonics will have in their rebuilding. Combined with the trade of Kurt Thomas to San Antonio for Brent Barry, Francisco Elson and a 2009 first-round pick, the Sonics now have 13 picks in the next three drafts and have acquired three players with contracts expiring after this season.

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