Gerald Wallace Trade To Blazers Died When Bobcats Asked For Nicolas Batum, According To Report

As of Wednesday afternoon, it looked like Gerald Wallace was well on his way to the Portland Trail Blazers in a trade. As of Wednesday night, the talks were dead. What happened to cause the talks to die? Were they even significant to begin with?

One report indicates that they died when the Bobcats tried to up the price for Wallace. Charlotte asked for small forward Nicolas Batum, who the Blazers have indicated is untouchable, and the Blazers predictably balked, according to ESPN's Marc Stein.

One source says CHA insistence on Batum stalled GWallace-to-Portland talks. Blazers been telling teams all year that Batum CAN'T be had    

Charlotte asking for Batum is understandable, in the sense that the other trade proposal involved them getting little value in return for a player who made the All-Star team last year. But if Portland was telling everyone that Batum cannot be had, asking for him seems like a waste of time. If this report is true, it may have driven Portland away from the table.