CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte Bobcats signed veteran guard Larry Hughes to help with depth in the backcourt as they attempt to reach the playoffs for the first time.
 
Also, an MRI exam on forward Gerald Wallace’s left ankle Saturday revealed no fractures or ligament ruptures. But Wallace likely will miss Sunday’s game at Orlando after being injured on Friday.

General manager Rod Higgins announced this month they wouldn’t sign Hughes because of his broken finger. But the injury has healed sooner than expected, and Hughes could be ready to play in about a week. He walked through plays and participated in shooting drills in practice Saturday.

Charlotte has been looking for help in the backcourt after trading Flip Murray to Chicago last month in a deal that brought forward Tyrus Thomas to the Bobcats. Coach Larry Brown coached Hughes in Philadelphia after the 76ers took him with the eighth pick in the 1998 draft.

The 31-year-old Hughes, who has averaged just over 14 points in his career, was traded by New York to Sacramento last month, then waived by the Kings. He’s also played for Golden State, Washington, Cleveland and Chicago.

The Bobcats are hopeful Wallace could return within the week after he rolled his ankle on a hard foul in the closing seconds of the first half in Friday’s 106-98 win against the Clippers. Wallace is averaging 18.5 points.

Hughes never played a game for the Kings after he was acquired from the Knicks in three-team deal with the Rockets.

Hughes was scheduled to make $13.65 million this season.

The Kings announced that Hughes had been waived this afternoon.

St. Louisan Larry Hughes was traded to the Sacramento Kings, as part of a seven-player NBA trade-deadline deal involving three teams today (Thurs., Feb. 18).

Hughes was part of the blockbuster deal which sent perennial All-Star guard Tracy McGrady from the Houston Rockets to the New York Knicks and young standout Kevin Martin from Sacramento to Houston. The move was made before the end of the NBA’s trade deadline, which was this afternoon at 3 p.m. (Eastern Time).

Sacramento becomes the seventh team that Hughes will play for during his 11-year NBA career. Hughes has also played for Philadelphia, Golden State, Washington, Cleveland, Chicago and New York.

The Chicago Bulls made their second big trade in two days on Thursday, agreeing to send Larry Hughes to the Knicks for Jerome James, Tim Thomas and Anthony Roberson.

“I think Chicago was very honest with Hughes and made him aware that when [Kirk] Hinrich came back, he wasn’t going to play,” Knicks president Donnie Walsh said. “I’m not saying he was happy or unhappy, I think he was looking to go somewhere because he knew he wasn’t going to play once Hinrich got back.”

The move comes just one day after the Bulls agreed to send Andres Nocioni and Drew Gooden to the Sacramento Kings for Brad Miller and John Salmons.

Hughes has been in the Bulls’ doghouse for some time and the two sides had agreed to seek a trade weeks ago. With Salmons coming to the Bulls on Wednesday, there was even less need for Hughes.

The trade is a wash financially for both teams. Hughes makes $12.8 million this year; James and Thomas make $12.2 million combined.

This one rids them of the moody Hughes, who was acquired last year from Cleveland at the deadline but has been a non-factor in Chicago’s crowded backcourt. He hasn’t played since Jan. 12, watching one game from a club restaurant, and is averaging 12 points in 30 games this season.

“Obviously with Larry Hughes’ situation, we had been looking to move him,” Bulls vice president John Paxson said. “The deal we made today was, basically, I told him and his agent, Jeff Wechsler, I would do everything in my power to move him.”

Hughes fills a need for the Knicks. They thought they had their replacement by acquiring Cuttino Mobley from the Los Angeles Clippers in a deal that same day, but he was forced to retire because of a heart condition.

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PS - Stop dreaming about 2010.

Received the nickname “Big Shot Larry” after hitting a game winning shot against the Utah Jazz on November 24, 2008.

Please relinquish control of your awesome website to Chicago Bulls fans like myself.  I realize you do not like the Bulls and to be honest, I am not too fond of the LeBron’s either.  But man this thing is bigger than Chicago and Cleveland’s respective NBA franchises.  You and I and every Bulls, Cavs, Wizards, Sixers and Warriors fan know what a curse having Larry Hughes is on your favorite team.  There are fans of 25 other NBA teams that need to not make the same mistake we did. 
 
Think of doing this for the good of mankind.  The economy is slumping, gas prices are high, typhoid fever is making a comeback (ok I made the last one up).  The last thing fans need is Larry Hughes ruining their favorite NBA franchise with his horrible shot selection, disrupting attitude, and ridiculous sense of entitlement.  Fans are drawn to the NBA for entertainment, a way to escape from the stresses in their everyday lives.  Larry Hughes is ANTI-entertainment.  Just last night during a freaking preseason game, I threw my shoe at the TV watching Larry Hughes dribble around the court for 15 seconds before jacking up an airball with a hand in his face.   You remember the first time you picked up a basketball video game and you had no idea how to run plays, so you just gave the ball to your shooter and you ran around the court aimlessly until a defender was far enough away and then you jacked up a shot?  THAT IS LARRY HUGHES!
 
This needs to be brought to the attention of the world, so that no NBA team will ever decide to give him any money to play basketball ever again.  Please consider my plea for the betterment of mankind.
 
Respectfully,
 
(Name withheld)

Hughes calls himself “a guard, period. Just let me play. I’ve learned to take fewer bad shots, to recognize situations, so just put me out there and I’ll try to make the good play. If it’s from the two-guard, what’s the difference?”

Full article here.

I can’t wipe the smile off my face.

Did that just happen? Danny Ferry convinced another team to take Larry Hughes?! Ponder that for a moment. I’m almost afraid to write about this until the league formally reviews and approves the deal.

Is this a good deal for the Cavs? I think so, but the best way to evaluate a trade like this is to wait a year and see what the hell happens. So I’m holding off on any grades, but I commend Danny Ferry for making a move.

And now the question: What am I going to do with this site?
I’m not sure right now, and I feel like I need a few days to figure it out.

Here’s the plan:
1) Brainstorm my options
This site could go in a number of directions such as: keeping it going for Bulls fans, turning it into a Cavs site, selling the site, or turning it into a general NBA site. I’m also considering shutting it down completely. Or perhaps someone would like me to write for their site.

2) Listen to your ideas
Once I come up with my top 5 options, I’m going to launch a survey on the site and I’m going to let everyone vote. I’ll count the votes and go from there.  UPDATE: I’ve decided against the survey because all of your comments have replaced the need to do one.

So please comment or send me an email (heylarryhughes@gmail.com) if you have any good ideas, and I’ll read every single bit of feedback. Thanks to everyone for all of your participation, comments, and Cleveland sports loyalty. It’s been a lot of fun.

In the meantime, I’m gonna get off the couch and try to do some good for the community.

7-16         .437        2-5        .400          3-5      .600

Larry had a pretty decent game tonight. He shot well in the first half and then went into the tank in the 3rd quarter (with the rest of the team). Overall, 19 points on 44% shooting is something I can’t complain about!

Boobie suffered a nasty ankle sprain in the third quarter when Pacer guard Travis Diener slammed into him. The initial report is that the x-rays were negative and the team would reevaluate the injury on Thursday. But it looked pretty bad, so cross your fingers it wasn’t too serious.

Now onto the fun stuff! Brian Windhorst is teasing the hell out of Cavs fans with this mid-game blog post:

Folks, I have not watched a second of the first half as I pursue some hot trade rumors with the Cavs. They are being very active and are in talks over a blockbuster that has not been reported yet. It does not involve Mike Miller. More to come later.

The suspense is killing me! Is it possible that Larry Hughes could be part of the deal??? I don’t know about you, but I’m glad we didn’t mortgage the future of the franchise for Mike Bibby or Jason Kidd.