Comments on: Ben Wallace traded to Cavs

By: PIstons4Life

PIstons4Life — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 13:12:39 +0000

OK LETS TAKE THIS IN THE CORRECT SENSE OF THOUGHT. CHICAGO WANTED A BIG BEN TO TAKE AWAY FROM THE PISTONS LINE UP. THEY FIGURE IF THEY OFFER BEN A 60 MILLION CONTRACT HE WOULD TAKE IT (ANYONE WOULD HAve). WHEN CHICAGO BEAT THE PISTONS THEY FIGURE THEYHAD DONE THE RIGHT THING, BUT WHAT HAPPEN? CHICAGO IS NOT THE FAVOR ONE SO NOW THEY FIGURE, “LET’S TRADE BEN TO THE CAVS”. BAD CHOICE BECAUSE THEY JUST MADE THE CAVS LOT STRONGER. THE REAL REASON IS BECAUSE THE BULLS HAD A PROMBLEM WITH BEN WEARING HIS HEAD BAND. THE BEST TRADE WOULD HAVE BEEN FOR BEN TO GO BACK TO THE PISTONS EVEN THOUGH HE MADE A CALL THAT ANYONE WOULD HAVE. DETROIT IF HE REALLY WAS A GREAT PLAYER, TRUE FRIEND, TRUE PISTONS HE WOULD BE BACK IN THE FAMOUS BAD BOYS COLOR: RED, BLUE, AND WHITE.

By: Pinball

Pinball — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 00:28:25 +0000

So, is Ben going to be able to get along with Mike Brown? This is LeBron’s team, so Ben isn’t going to be the “Big Man on Campus”. The past couple of years it has been pretty obvious when Ben has been “discontented”.

By: larry

larry — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 23:49:43 +0000

This was a great trade for the Bulls. Been Worthless was the single-worst player in the NBA for his number of minutes. He was a black hole on offense - I can’t count the number of good passes he caught 2 feet from the basket that he couldn’t convert into baskets. He didn’t jump, he didn’t rebound, all he did was take unearned minutes from deserving young players. But I blame the Head Coaches, Boyland and Skiles, for that as much as I blame Ol’ Been.

You Detroit fans may love and respect Been Worthless for his time in Detroit; Chicago fans have the right to take a big dump right in his mouth for all the hard work and effort he put in to his time with the Bulls. Which is to say, NONE.

“The Bulls made the mistake of overvaluing their young talent. Why was Luol Deng off the table when Garnett and Gasol were in play?”

Wrong, wrong, wrong. John Paxson offered Tyson Chandler, Luol Deng, and the # 2 draft pick (that became Tyrus Thomas) to Kevin McHale before the Been Worthless signing. McHale turned down that offer before deciding to help his poor buddy Danny Ainge. Then he would’ve signed Been and had a front line of Garnett, Ol’ Been, and Nocioni.

Joe D is a good GM, but you guys do worship him a bit much. If he had drafted Wade or Carmelo or Bosh rather than Darko, Detroit may’ve won 2 or 3 Championships rather than just then 1. That’s a HUGE black mark on Joe D’s resume. At least Paxson never chose Luol Deng or Ben Gordon over DWade, let alone Darko.

The Been Worthless signing is the biggest mistake by Paxson, and he just rectified that. Larry Hughes may be no good whatsoever, yet the trade will STILL help the ballclub. Been Worthless was absolute trash on the Bulls. He took $60 million and shut it down. He’s pathetic.

It was a good move for all 3 teams, but I sincerely doubt it helps the Cavs get past either the Pistons or the Celtics this season.

By: kevin s.

kevin s. — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 23:06:56 +0000

“Which reminds me, what is it about Joe D that makes other GMs do utterly retarded things, or make moves like this one, which isn’t a lot more than rearranging the furniture?”

Job security. Dumars doesn’t need to panic because he’ll be back year after year. Thus, he doesn’t have to make a ridiculous move in the hope that it will somehow work. Most GMs have a couple of years to make a difference. If it doesn’t work, they are fired, and don’t have to worry about the gigantic mess they’ve left behind. Joe D. knows he’ll be stuck with the Christian Laettner’s of the world, should he choose to acquire them.

Look at Steve Kerr in Phoenix. He’s basically taking a chance that his move might turn into a championship. More likely, it will sink the team for years to come, but he won’t be around for that outcome anyway.

The Bulls made the mistake of overvaluing their young talent. Why was Luol Deng off the table when Garnett and Gasol were in play? Why did Chicago spend all that money on Ben Wallace? Those were bad decisions with logically negative outcomes. So Paxson flails in an attempt to save his job, and actually flails reasonably well, unloading an “untradable” contract in the process.

By: Other Matt

Other Matt — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 17:27:55 +0000

Kevin S, my point which probably got lost in all the rambling was that I don’t think this trade makes them more or less likely to make the Finals than they were before. They can’t really play Ben and Varajoke together. They can’t play Ben and Joe Smith together. They can’t play Ben and Snow together. I kind of like Delonte West, but he hasn’t been able to take minutes away from Earl Watson, which I’d be a little concerned about if I was a Cavs fan.

If I were a Cavs fan, I’d be nervous with Wally matching up defensively with either Rip or Tay, or Pierce or Allen. I like Wally with Gibson because they’re both good shooters and he minimizes their chances of the supporting cast having an “off night”. Joe Smith has outperformed Gooden this year, but recent history suggests that might not last for another 40-50 games. I don’t see how Ben stays with McDyess or Rasheed, or KG over a 7 game series at this point in his career.

So, I’m kind of puzzled. There may be the whole “addition by subtraction” factor at play, but I don’t think this really improves them as much as everyone seems to think it does.

By: Shinons

Shinons — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 15:55:11 +0000

The Cavs turned Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, and four pieces of garbage into four starting caliber players. They finally have a decent, scrappy point guard who can shoot. Wally makes their offense a lot scarier than Hughes did and LeBron can keep him in line. When Ben plays with energy, he’s great. Think he may have something to prove? And Joe Smith effectively replaces Gooden. And they didn’t have to give up Gibson? Obscenities.

They worry me.

By: Sauce1977

Sauce1977 — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 15:17:29 +0000

No Pippen for the Jordan that I can see. Not even a Rodman. All I see are B.J. Armstrongs. Sounds like they made a trade to keep LeBron happy for less than one year.

By: Ronnie DeLaura

Ronnie DeLaura — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 13:37:19 +0000

Wow, I cant believe so many people are thinking the Cavs are better with Ben. He is nothing but a shell of his former self. Primoz is better than him now a days. Ben would make a pretty decent back-up to Big Z though. If he was always mad about not getting enough touches with Detroit and Chicago then he really is never going to get the ball with James on his team. What a wash. Dumbass sellout should have stayed in Detroit.

By: Deezy

Deezy — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 06:56:23 +0000

I think people are making a mistake by focusing on Ben Wallace. The real keys are the other players the Cavs added. Joe Smith has been putting up 17/7 for the Bulls the past month. He is right now better than Gooden. It’s hard to appreciate how bad Gooden is unless you watch him night in and night out. He plays no D, is the dumbest guy on the court at all times, and is wildly inconsistent. He has a nice shooting touch for a big, but the Cavs could never play him in crunch time since he was such a mental and defensive liability. He is the big man equivalent to Ricky Davis. A guy who puts up solid stats, but doesn’t help you win games.

Hughes was clearly not working out with the Cavs. Cleveland will only miss his defense, but will welcome Wally’s good outside shooting.

Toss in Delonte West who is more of a legit PG than anything the Cavs have had in years and Cleveland is sitting pretty after this trade. Oh yeah, they added a 2nd rounder and lost no future flexibility.

If Wallace can rekindle a little passion and give the Cavs 25 minutes of energy and D, it’s gravy.

By: V

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 06:47:54 +0000

I’m not going to hate on Ben. He got what he wanted and deserved, a big contract, it just happened to be with someone else. Also, that big contact made it less likely Chicago will be a contender anytime soon.

As any player will tell you, or any GM, it’s a business. True, he was not only the face of the franchise, but the face of the renaissance of the franchise. He could have taken less money and Stuckey’d be wearing another number. And we might be gunning for 50Ws instead of 60.

Which reminds me, what is it about Joe D that makes other GMs do utterly retarded things, or make moves like this one, which isn’t a lot more than rearranging the furniture?

By: kevin s.

kevin s. — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 06:39:59 +0000

“But let’s be honest, they’re going as far as LeBron can take them. This “upgraded” supporting cast is essentially the same.”

Well, LeBron took them to the finals last year. This cast isn’t quite the same. They are assuredly going with Wally at the two, West is a servicable PG, kinda, and Joe Smith is very underrated player. On those grounds the trades are pretty even. If Ben Wallace can do what he did just last year, this trade make the Cavs substantially better.

Go Magic!

By: Mark B.

Mark B. — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 05:39:30 +0000

G,
I see your point and I sincerely thank and give Ben respect for the time he was here…but that was then. when he left, he turned his back on this organization, his teammates/friends, and most importantly every single Pistons fan who loved him by jetting for chicago. So thanks again Ben, we loved you when you were here and you were our most popular player..but what you did to everyone back here warrants every single boo, jeer, and potshot you have coming. Good luck in cleveland big ben has-been

By: "ME"

"ME" — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 04:31:56 +0000

I don’t know. I’m a little worried about the Cavs inside right now. Rasheeds reluctance to bang combined w/ our of lack of interior size coupled w/ Snow’s manhandling’ of Chauncey the past two playoffs has me a bit worried about the Cavs now.

We can’ live & die by the jumper & expect to advance. Bad enuff we have no coach. (oops.)

ttp://think.mtv.com/044FDFFFF 00989EBD00170098D44

By: PDXPistonsFan

PDXPistonsFan — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 04:00:18 +0000

This puts Ben in the position of having to prove himself again, which is perhaps the only thing that would motivate him after he just got paid. Pride has always been what made Ben tick, it’s what made him leave Detroit, and it’s what might make him a solid contributer in Cleveland. Cleveland needed a shooter, and if Wally stays healthy, he can be clutch. Seems like giving up Gooden is giving up a decent complement to Lebron, though. Any move can revitalize a team, but it’s 50/50 whether this works.

By: Other Matt

Other Matt — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 03:16:27 +0000

Yeah, I dunno Boney. The question of who you’d rather have for approximately a zillion dollars too much is like asking whether you’d like to die by being shot or strangled. Either way you’re still dead. (I stole that line from the BlogABull comment thread which is high, high comedy if you get the time to scroll through it)