Big Ben set to join Baby Bulls

Wallace will be joined by Bulls general manager John Paxson and head coach Scott Skiles at the United Center for the official announcement Thursday.

Wallace accepted a four-year offer from the Bulls, according to the Chicago Tribune, last week, but the contract couldn’t be officially signed until Wednesday.

Adding Wallace makes Chicago a significant player in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls have been on the brink of something special during two consecutive postseason appearances, but made early exits because they lacked a defensive interior presence.

Wallace was the only player to finish in the top 10 in rebounds, blocks and steals last season. He also became the second four-time winner of the Defensive Player of the Year Award.

The deal has a domino effect on the rest of the Central Division. Detroit loses a significant cog in its team-first persona after winning a franchise- record 64 games last season before being knocked off by eventual NBA champion Miami in the Eastern Conference finals.

Cleveland still has LeBron James, Milwaukee added big man Charlie Villanueva in a trade for T.J. Ford and Chicago had a quality draft, choosing high-flyer Tyrus Thomas and Swiss Thabo Sefolosha during the first round, to go along with a dynamic backcourt of Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon.

The acquisition of Wallace also apparently made big man Tyson Chandler expendable, as league sources confirmed to the Tribune that the Bulls will ship Chandler to the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets for forward P.J. Brown and swingman J.R. Smith. Brown is a veteran presence who will give the young squad immediate legitimacy with referees. He is also in the final year of his contract, giving the Bulls ample salary cap space to sign the core group of Hinrich, Gordon and Luol Deng if they wish.

Smith is a player with enormous talent, yet has shown an aloof personality throughout his brief NBA career. He has two traits the Bulls sought in the offseason — length on the perimeter and the ability to score — but it is unclear whether or not his personality will mesh with the hard-nosed Skiles.

The 31-year-old Wallace averaged 7.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and a career-high 1.8 steals to anchor Detroit’s defense last season. In his 10-year career, Wallace has averages of 6.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per contest.