Ben Wallace returning to Detroit

[Andrew]

Source

A person with knowledge of the deal says Ben Wallace is coming back to the Detroit Pistons.

Wallace will receive a $1.3 million, one-year deal, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed. Wallace is expected to do that early next week.

Seems like an alright move, that's a contract he should be able to live up to in presumably a much smaller role. Worst case scenario, it's one year for $1.3 million so it's not going to be much of a setback for the Pistons.

Wallace was considering retirement as recently as May after the Cavs were ousted from the playoffs by Orlando. He cited a combination of injuries, declining production and a loss of passion for the game.

Right around the time he signed that $60 million contract. Damn you, Paxson.

[bee-boy]

wow. i think he should just retire already.

[Andrew]

Why? Not that I'm a fan of Ben Wallace by any stretch of the imagination but if he wants to continue his career and there's someone willing to give him that opportunity, in all fairness good luck to him. It's not like he's going to be called upon to lead them anywhere or getting paid a ridiculous amount of money given his skillset...again.

[Amphatoast]

In Detroit, the Pistons plan on using Wallace as a backup to Kwame Brown.

from ESPN... just sounds funny. Wonder how long will that last? Wallace is still tougher than kwame

[Dee.]

In Detroit, the Pistons plan on using Wallace as a backup to Kwame Brown.

from ESPN... just sounds funny. Wonder how long will that last? Wallace is still tougher than kwame

Agreed on this.
He Should be a Starting Center,And i think he could still Average About 10 Rebounds and 2 Blocks Per game.

[benji]

If only they had a superior big man to play above both of them.

phpBB [video]

phpBB [video]

[balozunite]

Maxiell is what... 6-8 or 6-9. He is way to undersized to be starting at center.

Wallace should be a decent center. He might not be as much of a defensive presence as he used to be, but compared to the rest of the league, he is still above average. And with a pure scorer beside him in Charlie-V. They can complement each other well.

[Modifly]

Maxiell is what... 6-8 or 6-9. He is way to undersized to be starting at center.

FYI, Ben Wallace is 6'9.

Wallace should be a decent center

So Wallace, who according to you is "way too undersized to be starting at center" because he is 6'9, should start at Center instead of Maxiell who's younger, fresher and has better offensive game?

[benji]

Wallace is 6-7 really, same as Maxiell. And it doesn't matter. Maxiell has a massive wingspan and is better than both Wallace and Brown. Also Wilcox.

This is a lottery team anyway. You can play a serviceable backup who's 35, two 26 year olds who are somehow already on the downswing of their unremarkable careers, or you can play the 25 year old who's your best front court player. Who despite being "undersized" out-rebounds, out-shotblocks, out-defends, and out-shoots the rest of the bench by wide margins.

Nah, would make too much sense. Like dumping Rip and Prince for whatever you can get, or say, playing Maxiell and Johnson last season. Or not spending $17 million a year on two zero-defense guys who will never be all-star quality players.

[Laxation]

Nah, would make too much sense. Like dumping Rip and Prince for whatever you can get, or say, playing Maxiell and Johnson last season. Or not spending $17 million a year on two zero-defense guys who will never be all-star quality players.

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2010 detroit pistons...

[dopeboy]

I agree about Maxiell. He's their best front court player, and it's not even close. Wallace is nowhere near the level he was 3-5 years ago. Why should they use him, when he shouldn't play more than 15 minutes per game? Well, about his height - Hayes was able to play C in Houston. Maxiell is way more athletic, solid on offense, plays with the same amount of energy and is bigger. I don't see a problem there..

And whoever said that Wallace could still average 10 rebounds per game, LOL.

[benji]

15 minutes seems ideal for Wallace, maybe more when he's having one of those "I feel like I'm 25!" games these old timers all have from time to time. Cleveland spotted him this (a bit more actually) for most of the season and the playoffs and Wallace was still quite good in that role. He's no longer a starter, let alone the DPOY, but he's still one of the better guys to bring off the bench in a manner where he can maximize his effort.

If Wallace started and played 36+ minutes a game, he'd probably get 10 rebounds and 2 blocks. He was at 9.9 and 2.1 last season per 36. But I don't know why anyone would do that. Let alone the Pistons who have not just Maxiell, but Brown, Summers and Jerebko (who they've suggested could see minutes there in a small offensive unit) and will also add Wilcox to that pack.

Despite what some people are thinking (see other threads) we're talking about a team that AT BEST will match last years team. This is a stockpile talent see who pans out and work from there year. With Joe D having maybe too much faith in Gordon and Villanueva to be starters going forward on a title team. (I can see one, but not both, and especially not at $17+ million a year combined.) But at the same time, you might only see Daye, Gordon and Villanueva still on this team in five years.

[NovU]

At $1.3 million, wouldn't any team in the NBA want him? I'm surprised to see him back to Detroit at that price. I think he could have gone to a true contender.

[TheOriginalCandyMan]

It's nice that Wallace is going to end his career in Detroit
He's probably going to be a rotation player around Wilcox, and Kwame
Plus Maxiel isn't a center, hes too small to guard 7 foot centers, or even 6'10 guys



But this is a good move by Detroit....assures them at least a 7th spot in the East, like that means anything

[benji]

Plus Maxiel isn't a center, hes too small to guard 7 foot centers, or even 6'10 guys

No, no he's not. He does it regularly.

assures them at least a 7th spot in the East

No, no it doesn't. The only way they make the playoffs is if Austin Daye plays Wilt-like minutes and doesn't get bored being the greatest player in history.

[TheOriginalCandyMan]

Plus Maxiel isn't a center, hes too small to guard 7 foot centers, or even 6'10 guys

No, no he's not. He does it regularly.

assures them at least a 7th spot in the East

No, no it doesn't. The only way they make the playoffs is if Austin Daye plays Wilt-like minutes and doesn't get bored being the greatest player in history.

He plays more minutes as a PF than a C
Well fine, I think Pistons are gonna make the 8th spot, but they going to lose to the Cavs again in the first round...

[benji]

Don't be disappointed when they struggle to win 35 games.

He plays more minutes as a PF than a C

He didn't last year, or the year before. Alongside McDyess he almost always took the center. And when paired with Wallace he took the lesser of the two offensive threats so he could weak side shot block and otherwise help. (I'm pretending of course that there's some kind of difference between C and PF and that it's not better the simply label the class of players as C/PF or something else.)

[Martti.]

I think Wallace can still do some damage down low. At 1.3M he's probably the best.

[bowdown]

does detroit just like the idea of having a wallace hanging around their locker room?

[shadowgrin]

He plays more minutes as a PF than a C

No.