By Marlen Garcia
Tribune staff reporter

July 5, 2006, 5:19 PM CDT

Tyson Chandler said he knew his days as a Bull were numbered as soon as Ben Wallace agreed to join the Bulls.

"It was just a matter of when and where," Chandler said early Wednesday evening when he was reached by phone in California.

After five seasons with the Bulls, Chandler is being traded to the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets for P.J. Brown and J.R. Smith.

Chandler said early in the week his agent told him a trade was imminent.

"At first I was walking around a little sick," he said. "Even though I had heard the rumors, it was definitely a shock. I was definitely sad. After a couple of nights of thinking about it, I realized basketball-wise, it's a good thing for me.

"It's a great basketball opportunity to play with a bunch of young, up-and-coming guys. That's the thing I'm excited about. They're moving the team in a direction that fits me well. I can help a team make the playoffs. I'll get a chance to play with a great, young point guard (Chris Paul). "

Chandler was the last Bull remaining from former general manager Jerry Krause's regime. Chandler said he was grateful to Krause and current boss John Paxson.

"I'm sad to leave a great organization," he said. "The organization has been great to me. They gave me a great opportunity. Jerry Krause drafted me and John Paxson has been nothing but honest and loyal."

Krause acquired Chandler straight out of Dominguez High School in 2001 along with Thornwood High's Eddy Curry, now with the Knicks. They were dubbed the Baby Bulls. Curry departed last summer in a sign-and-trade with New York.

Last summer Chandler received a six-year deal worth a little more than $60 million. He is owed $54 million.

The Bulls are trading him, in part, to protect themselves from luxury tax issues in the future. They will sign Wallace to a four-year deal worth $60 million.

Wallace's deal and the Chandler trade will become official July 12.

"I'm going to miss the city of Chicago," Chandler said. "There are loyal, great fans. From when I arrived and we won only 21 games to our playoff runs, the fans were great."

And Ben Wallace (26) went from being wildly underpaid and underrated to wildly overpaid and overrated in the blink of an eye. Just check his regular-season and playoff stats, for God's sake. He peaked two or three years ago.

(That reminds me, am I the only one who thought Chicago wasted much of its cap space for two extra rebounds per game, a mild defensive upgrade and the ongoing comedy of a Buckwheat-caliber afro? Congratulations, you get to play four-on-five for the next four years in a league where every rule adjustment favors teams that can score. Why not just keep Chandler for two-thirds the price? Instead, they overpaid for Wallace and gave away Chandler for a washed-up P.J. Brown and a draft bust that New Orleans was trying to dump? I don't get it. This is like Paramount Pictures signing William H. Macy to a four-picture, $60 million deal -- sure, he's a great actor, but that doesn't mean you pay him like a superstar. They will eventually regret this one almost as much as Wallace probably regrets filming that T-Mobile commercial that made him seem whipped.)