CLEVELAND -- At 2:59 p.m., one minute before the deadline expired, Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry called NBA officials in New York to say he was making a major trade. Two, actually.

They must have been surprised.

Ferry was dismantling his team.

In a complex, 11-player swap involving Cleveland, Chicago and Seattle, Ferry dealt half his active roster to acquire center Ben Wallace and forward Joe Smith from the Bulls, and forward Wally Szczerbiak and guard Delonte West from the SuperSonics.

LeBron James wanted help to win an NBA title. Ferry got it for him.

"I didn't think we were good enough to win the championship," Ferry said, explaining his motives for the move. "I thought we had a very good team. But I do believe if we have a chance to make ourselves better we should try.

"Was it a risk in doing so? Yes, it was a risk. But we're going to have to make some decisions that have some risk in them if we want to continue to build and grow."

Unable to finalize major deals in the past, Ferry pulled off a colossal one at the 3 p.m. buzzer. He sent guard Larry Hughes, forwards Drew Gooden and Cedric Simmons, and guard Shannon Brown to Chicago for Wallace, one of the game's top inside enforcers, and Smith, a versatile veteran.