there are rumours of a chandler to the hornets, ben w to the bulls and pj brown to the pistons trade. lots of talk at hornetsreport.com and realgm.com
Chicago should be smarter than this. They have younger players that are going to be way better than Wallace. They should save the cap room. Wallace did not exactly show up to play big in the finals. A fair price for Wallace would be far below the max. I would offer him a three year deal at about six to eight a year.
There's another way to look at this. If you're a Bulls fan you're probably thinking you were a Ben Wallace away from defeating the Heat in the first round. Wallace is exactly what the Bulls are lacking. An inside presence, offensive/defensive boards, shot blocking and experience. Sure, the max may seem like a lot but money talks and you've got to pay up if you really want a player (Bulls) or want to keep a player ( Pistons). I think its a great move by the Bulls.
Ben Wallace is horrible, bad shooter, bad ft shooter, not that good of defender. The only reason people like him is because he was on the Pistons and his afro. OVERRATED
That's the thing: It's not like Ben Wallace is the missing piece to the puzzle. The Bulls have more pressing needs to satisfy, interior defense and rebounding aren't necessarily one of them with Tyson Chandler and his unmovable albatross contract. If this was a team like Washington or Golden State, it would actually make sense to see them throwing $52 million at Wallace. Whatever, atleast the Bulls had a nice draft.
Exactly, Ben Wallace is only going to get worse as the years go by. He's got no offensive game and as time passes his defense will only get worse. At least with Chandler, you can still play the "potential" card because he still has plenty of potential to improve and actually develop whereas Wallace is only going to get worse. Awful, awful move if this happens.
I'm guessing that Chicago is pulling a Dallas-esque "screw the cap, pay the luxury tax" move. I think it's an excellent move. The Bulls have arguably the best young backcourt in the NBA. Putting in Ben Wallace will shore up the front court and help Tyrus Thomas develop. I liken this move to Phoenix signing Nash. Everyone thought they overpaid for Nash, but he was the perfect player for what they were trying to accomplish. Ben Wallace isn't a max player on 28 teams in the NBA. Hell, he's not worth $8MM/year on 25 teams. But to Detroit and Chicago, he's worth an enormous amount.
You can't assume putting a veteran on a team is great for the young guys. Have there been any indications Ben Wallace is willing to work and develop young talent? Have there been any indications Ben Wallace helped Darko develop? Add to that the guy is massively overrated, would he even be considered an elite defender 10 years ago? All Wallace will teach Tyrus Thomas is a strong work ethic in the gym.
You're correct. I do not know how much time Wallace will put in with the young players. But I do "know" this: Kurt Hinrich frustrated Dwyane Wade and kept him to only good (rather than unreal) production. The rest of the Bulls are better than their match-ups on the Heat other than at center. Skiles and Paxson probably see themselves as being able to beat the Heat if they can stop Shaq. If there were a player that allowed that, you couldn't put a price on him. Wallace gives you a better chance to do that than any player available now or in the near future. Ben Wallace would have been one of the top 2 defenders at his position 10 years ago, his position just would have been different. He'd have played PF and would have battled Rodman every year for first team all-defense.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/basketball/nba/07/03/wallace.upset/index.html The guy is about to be 32 and would be the highest paid player on the team and he's upset at that? I know he brings a lot to the team but he's not even their 3rd best player.
I saw that. 4 years $52 million. I think this is a terrible move by the Bulls. In my opinion by year 3 of this deal the contract will be referred to in the same sentence as the massive albatross contracts of Allan Houston, Penny Hardaway, Jalen Rose, and Juwan Howard.
I think it is a bold, but great move by the Bulls. They get a tough player who will instantly become the leader of that team. Out of the players you mentioned I see Big Ben actually playing this contract out fully. He is a All-Star and fits Skiles' style to a tee. Good move by Paxson. IMO, bad move for the Pistons. I think of Detroit and the fro' comes into my mind ASAP.
here is the link... http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2508742 I got to quote myself... I am great.
Other than experience, that's exactly what the Bulls already had with Tyson Chandler and Tyrus Thomas. Does Ben Wallace really add that much?
I really question this move for the Bulls. It's great for Big Ben (if for no other reason) because he gets to move from Detroit to a truly great city. The Bulls have blown their cap room to get a declining player who is sliding fast. Upon 2nd thought, if Wallace gives the Bulls two seasons of "defensive player of the year" level of performance, it may be worth it. I don't think they are that far away from contending. Their defense next season could be the NBA's best and they might become the team everyone else dreads playing.
