Aldridge: Thunder's Smith, Kings' Gooden to be bought out

Last-minute negotiations before tonight's midnight deadline will result in veteran big men Joe Smith and Drew Gooden being bought out by Oklahoma City and Sacramento, respectively, according to a league source, with both men trying to work out deals by Monday with other teams in order to be eligibile for playoff rosters.

Smith has publicly expressed no desire to leave the Thunder, but privately he has let it be known that he'd like to be bought out so that he can re-sign with a contending team. The Cleveland Cavaliers had already been interested in re-acquiring the 33-year-old, who played exceptionally well for them in the playoffs last year after being picked up at the trade deadline from Chicago in a multi-team deal. The Cavs' interest has only heightened in the past few days after losing center Ben Wallace for four to six weeks with a broken fibula suffered last Thursday in Houston.

The source said that Cleveland, San Antonio, Dallas and New Orleans were all vying for Smith's services Sunday evening. The Hornets had acquired Smith and forward Chris Wilcox from Oklahoma City last month in a trade for center Tyson Chandler -- widely believed to be advanced by New Orleans in order to keep the franchise from having to pay luxury tax next season -- but the trade was rescinded after Chandler failed his physical in Oklahoma City.

However, the Celtics -- the team that Smith most wanted to play for this season -- have dropped out of the bidding after signing veteran big man Mikki Moore last week, according to the source. Moore had been released by Sacramento after the Kings had acquired several players -- including, ironically, Gooden, who came from the Bulls in a trade that sent guard John Salmons and center Brad Miller to Chicago for Gooden and forward Andres Nocioni.

"Boston's out of it," the source said.

Gooden is also a former Cavalier that had been sent from Cleveland to Chicago in the same multi-team deal that brought Smith to Cleveland last year. The 27-year-old Gooden is averaging more than 13 points and eight rebounds this season.