Ben Wallace returns to Pistons
Chris McCoskey - Detroit News

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

The 14-year veteran suffered a broken leg last season and suffered from tendinitis in his knees.

At his best, Wallace is one of the top defensive players in the NBA, a fierce rebounder despite his small size for a center (6-foot-9, 240 pounds). He has never averaged more than 9.7 points per game in any season, but is valued more for his work on the boards (10.3 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game over his career).

Wallace will be a familiar face for a team in the midst of big changes. He will recognize former Cavaliers assistant John Kuester, who last month became Detroit's sixth head coach in the past 10 years.

Detroit has almost completely revamped its roster since Wallace left, with only Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince remaining from the 2003-04 championship team. They added Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon in the first hours of free agency, and later signed forward/center Chris Wilcox.

The Pistons have been known as a defensive team under Joe Dumars, the former Piston who is the team's president of basketball operations. Kuester has said that isn't going to change, despite his stint as Cleveland's offensive coordinator and the addition of two score-first players in Gordon and Villanueva."

Ben Wallace returns to Pistons | detnews.com | The Detroit News




New Pistons coach John Kuester enjoying Detroit
Terry Foster - Detroit News

Sharing the scoring

"First on Kuester's list could be coexistence.

No, he doesn't need to coexist. It's the relationship between two key pieces -- Richard Hamilton and Ben Gordon.

Last season, Hamilton and Allen Iverson failed to share the limelight -- or the basketball -- as the Pistons stumbled to their worst season (39-43) since 2001 and were swept out of the playoffs in the first round by the Cavaliers.

The problem was Iverson, who came to Detroit in a trade that sent Chauncey Billups to Denver, never grasped the team-first concept and insisted on starting. Hamilton, a key component to the 2004 NBA championship, was asked to come off the bench to accommodate Iverson.

So now, Hamilton must again be the team player and share the spotlight and ball with Gordon, a prolific scorer, just like Hamilton.

"When you have two explosive scorers, what a great supposed problem to have," Kuester said. "In our league right now, if you are able to put the ball in the basket on a consistent basis, you are in good shape.
"Now, you have two of the best in Rip and Ben. What a blessing to have. ... It is not a problem for me. It might be a problem for opponents."

New Pistons coach John Kuester enjoying Detroit | detnews.com | The Detroit News




Pistons bring back Big Ben for one year
Kirkland Crawford - Freep

"The Associate Press reports Wallace will get a $1.3 million deal.

Wallace left the Pistons after the 2006 season and signed a four-year, $60-million deal with the Bulls. In the second year of the contract, Wallace was traded to the Cavaliers. Wallace was with Cleveland last season, averaging 2.9 points and 6.5 rebounds in 58 games, but was traded to Phoenix in the Shaquille O'Neal deal. The Suns then bought out Wallace.

After the Cavs were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals by the Magic last season, Wallace intimated he was pondering retirement.

Wallace has worked with new Pistons coach John Kuester, who was most-recently an assistant in Cleveland."

Pistons bring back Big Ben for one year | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press




Big Ben Wallace is back in Detroit
Free Press Staff

"Center/forward signs one-year deal with former team after three seasons playing elsewhere

His return to Detroit raises several questions:

• How much does he have left? The Suns chose to buy him out for $10 million rather than play him. Earlier this off-season, he mentioned the possibility of retiring.

His rebounding numbers have declined every season since 2003 and his scoring average every season since 2005.

• What role will he play? The Pistons have at least four big men ahead of him for center and power forward: Chris Villanueva, Chris Wilcox, Kwame Brown and Jason Maxiell.

In Detroit, the Pistons plan on using Wallace as a backup to Brown. The Pistons were especially thin on the front line last season and still believe Wallace can defend and rebound -- albeit not at the same pace as his last stint.

Maybe more important to the Pistons, Wallace can provide veteran leadership. Only two other Pistons, Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince, remain from the 2003-04 championship team."

Big Ben Wallace is back in Detroit | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press



Pistons, Ben Wallace agree to a contract
A. Sherrod Blakely - Mlive

"Along with being a four-time All-star, Wallace was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year four times (2003, '04, '05 and '06) and was a member of the NBA's first-team all-Defensive team five times.

The Pistons, who have spent the summer revamping their roster with young, athletic players, will look to the 13-year veteran for his leadership.

A year ago, Detroit was among the league's oldest teams. By adding Villanueva, Wilcox and Ben Gordon -- all 26 or younger -- the Pistons are among the league's most youthful clubs.

However, the Pistons recognized the need for at least one veteran presence in the frontcourt. And with limited resources available after spending the bulk their salary cap space on free agents, Wallace, who will be 35 in September, was an ideal fit in terms of ability and cost."

Pistons, Ben Wallace agree to one-year contract - MLive.com




Curb your enthusiasm
PistonsNationBlog

"I know fans are excited. It is exciting. Ben was a hero and a symbol of hard work paying off for so many around these parts. But let’s keep this signing in perspective. It’s only for one season and barring some magic healing Arnie Kander smurf-berry juice Ben is not going to be taking anyone’s spot in the rotation.

If you paid attention to Ben over the past couple of seasons who’d have to admit father time has caught up with him. He’s a shadow of the 4-time DPOY that called the Palace his home office for 6 great years. In short we’re not one Ben Wallace away from being back on top of the mountain.

Ben, who’s ten years the senior over the youthful Pistons’ average age of 25, is here to help the young bigs. Passing along some of those tips and tactics that helped him lead the NBA in rebounds and blocks despite lacking the inches of those players whom have traditionally led those statistical categories.

This signing could also be beneficial to a couple of non-bigs. After all the turnover it’ll be nice for the two championship holdovers, Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince, to see a familiar face amongst all the new ones."

PistonsNationBlog.com » Blog Archive » Curb your enthusiasm




Better than You Think
Jeremy Banks -Slam Online

"How the Pistons actually improved this offseason.

When things are spiraling down, you have to take a risk to get back on track. Detroit took its risk by spending a combined $90 million for Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva, while allowing Allen Iverson and Rasheed Wallace to find new teams.

But don’t misled, the Pistons are improved, and they should be right back in the conversation. In fact, the team developed overnight into a younger version of the 2004 title team. Detroit won’t be as talented defensively, but the team will have the same versatility and balance on offense as it had during its six-year Eastern Conference reign.

The Pistons replaced Wallace with Villanueva, and it looks like they made the right choice. At 24, Villanueva is coming off a career year, while Wallace’s production has declined over the last two seasons. They bring the same skill set and, at this point, Villanueva has the higher ceiling. He’s athletic and consistent offensively. He plays and defends both forward positions. Charlie V’s 16 ppg gives the Pistons an upgrade over Wallace’s 12 ppg—Sheed’s lowest scoring output since 1999.

With Villanueva on the cusp of his prime and Wallace seemingly exiting his, the gap could get larger. The biggest question for Villanueva will be the experience factor. He’s never played in a playoff game, and it’s unclear how he’ll respond while playing for a potential playoff team. A few years ago, until he played with the Pistons, the same questions were asked of Wallace. How did that turn out?"

SLAM ONLINE | » Better than You Think




Stuckey Hopes to Be Detroit's Leader
Matt Watson - Fanhouse

"The Pistons always seemed to get by with leadership-by-committee -- they won the title in 2004 and achieved a streak of six conference finals appearances as a team of equals, lacking a true superstar but boasting one of the deepest starting lineups in the game.

By the time they backed into the playoffs last season, though, it was clear they were a rudderless ship. Many of the veterans alternated between cranky and disinterested, while the younger players weren't empowered enough to take charge.

In the midst of Detroit's doomed first-round matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers, I asked one of the young players who the team's leader was, who the rest of the team took direction from when things got tough.

Not surprisingly, he couldn't offer a single name, simply saying, "The older guys, I guess."

And who did the older guys take direction from? "Your guess is as good as mine, man."

As things played out, the notion of Detroit as a rudderless ship was reinforced, not only in how the Pistons were swept out of the first round, losing every game by double-digits, but also how things played out behind the scenes after Game 4.

Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace -- the only remaining members of the 2004 championship team -- all dodged the media, either sneaking out of the locker room early, waiting in the shower area until reporters on deadline gave up or blatantly ignoring questions while walking through a throng of reporters."


Stuckey Hopes to Be Detroit's Leader -- NBA FanHouse

__________________


"Evolution does not necessarily reward intelligence. With no natural predators to thin the herd, it began to simply reward those who reproduced the most and left the intelligent to become an endangered species." Idiocracy

Ben Wallace to Return to Detroit Pistons
Sam Smith - Bulls Blog

"You can go home again. Ben Wallace did Friday when he reportedly agreed to a minimum deal to return to the Detroit Pistons, and his story is a great object lesson of the evils of greed for professional athletes.

Will Wallace’s life be any different because of the $60 million contract he signed with the Bulls in 2006 compared with the $48 million deal offered by the Detroit Pistons? Can Wallace get back these last few miserable years of his career when he clearly was an unhappy, lost player with no constituency and more critics than fans?

Was it worth it?

I often wonder why players go for the last dollar instead of a better lifestyle. I know the answer. Because money is the measuring stick and the biggest pile wins. But I still go through the exercise of trying to figure out how your life can be any different with say $40 million versus $60 million. So why not go where it is most comfortable and where you want to be?

Wallace certainly didn’t do it to go with a winner, as the players like to say. The Pistons were a better team than the Bulls and Wallace had a much better chance of playing for another championship in Detroit than with Chicago.

It was that old disrespecting thing you hear from the players all the time. What, $12 million a year is a lack of respect? The Bulls upped it to $15 million, and we heard back channel that Wallace was more than gently nudged by family and representatives to take the bigger payday.

You could see from the first day he was with the Bulls he wished he were back in Detroit.

The Bulls have pretty much admitted the signing was a mistake, but that’s because it didn’t work out. I wrote at the time I wouldn’t have gone for Wallace, but I didn’t criticize the signing because it made sense.

Wallace was the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, even if the award that season was more on reputation for past accomplishments. Still, Wallace seemed to fit the Bulls need. Fans were down on Tyson Chandler, whom I am fairly sure is going to have a miserable time and be a lot less productive in Charlotte playing for Larry Brown and with Ray Felton instead of Chris Paul. Paul threw lobs to Chandler for about half his points. Chandler will have to wrestle Felton to the ground to get the ball away from him.

The Bulls were a developing defensive team at the time under Scott Skiles, and it made sense to add a veteran who would get the benefit of the calls on defense and who knew how to play without fouling since Chandler always was in foul trouble. Plus, the Bulls had free agent money to spend that summer which would not be available again for a few years because of extensions for other players, and Wallace was the consensus best free agent available.

So I thought it had a chance of working. After all, you were also taking away an All Star from one of your main rivals.

But you could see from the moment Wallace arrived his heart wasn’t in it. I remember five games into his playing for the Bulls I wrote an obituary-like story saying Wallace’s basketball career had died. I am into a bit of hyperbole, but just for the entertainment value.

There was much speculation that Wallace would have difficulties with Skiles, but that was just a minor issue, even with Wallace’s famous head band defiance. It turns out I later heard several other players who were feuding with Skiles put a reluctant Wallace up to the stunt.

The truth is Wallace came ready to play. He worked hard and was prepared. But what the Bulls and most of the rest of the NBA didn’t fully understand was how much the rest of the Pistons organization and team enabled Wallace so they could get the best out of him.

He was fairly shy and no leader, though he seemed that way in Detroit. The players, recognizing Wallace’s insecurities as an undrafted player always craving recognition, pushed him into the public leadership role he didn’t maintain internally. Those Pistons were known as a smart team, but we didn’t really realize how smart.

Ben, really, is about 6-7, and the key to his success, though Ben had super rebounding numbers before, was the addition of Rasheed Wallace. Rasheed, for all his dysfunctional behavior, is an unselfish teammate who doesn’t want the spotlight. He was able to defend the taller opponents who gave Ben trouble and provide an offensive option to keep the defense wary so Ben could roam free. Ben really wasn’t a center, and the Bulls didn’t have the offensive interior player to complement Ben with the likes of P.J. Brown from the Chandler trade, Michael Sweetney and Malik Allen.

But the Bulls were better with Ben. They won 49 games, swept the defending champion Heat and then lost to the Pistons as they choked away a big lead that could have gotten them a seventh game. It wasn’t Wallace’s fault the Bulls collapsed with players becoming unnerved over Kobe Bryant trade talk and pursuing their own richer contracts and then Skiles being fired.

So Wallace became a journeyman, traded to Cleveland, were he was a starter of little value, moved on to the Suns and bought out to save money, and now going back where he never should have left.

The fans and media loved Ben in Detroit and he loved being there. Yes, the Pistons are headed down, but perhaps more than anyone Ben was the symbol of those wonderful Pistons teams, a group of players pretty much given up on, a blue collar, hard working, lunch pail bunch more heart than talent. Of course, you have to have tremendous talent to get where they did and for so long. But their collective spirit also represented something more, and Ben was in the forefront of that, if not the actual leader.

He also should be something of an object lesson to other players. Money doesn’t buy happiness, as we’ve been told. The belief is if the Bulls had to do it over again, they probably wouldn’t. But it’s not what set them back. Do you think if Ben had to do it over again he would?

Ben will get the ovations again that he missed the last few years, at least the rare times he plays this season. I’m glad for him because his career is a role model because he demonstrated where you can go and what you can accomplish despite what others tell you if you believe and go to work. It’s too bad that money guided his thinking for a few years. It’s never what he was about and not what made him who he is."

Chicago Bulls Blog: Ben Wallace to Return to Detroit Pistons




F-E-L-O-N-I-O-U-S
Toasterhands - LifeOnDumars

"Big Ben is back in Detroit for at least one more year.
I’ll stick by my previous comments on this matter. No need to rehash them.

With Joe D. clearly off his rocker, I wonder what other players he might resort to signing…

Other former Pistons with little to nothing left in the tank that Joe might want to sign

Chucky Atkins- 34 year old Kenneth Lavon Atkins is currently a free agent (not exactly, he’s currently on the T-Wolves but what’s the difference). Yeah, he could help tutor Stuckey and Bynum or something, you know, take a roster spot from a younger player with potential such as a Sean Singletary or Jeremy Pargo.

Michael Curry- I hear he still has that wicked good set jump shot and can still throw down the hammer every once in a while. You do realize Joe, the team needs an experienced backup small forward. Wouldn’t want Mr. Summers to get any PT his rookie season, would ya? And if nothing else, maybe Curry can give some pointers to the rooks because after all, he was a helluva decision maker as a coach. Make Rip come off the bench. Brilliant! Plus Mike gave the most articulate and shrewd postgame interviews I’ve seen. Ever.

Scot Pollard- Guy is still looking for work and can still churn out the most unbelievable hairdos known to man kind. Hey Joe, the team is still a bit thin in the front court, Scot just might be the secret drug!"

F-E-L-O-N-I-O-U-S | Life On Dumars | A Detroit Pistons Blog





Doe's Rip Hamilton Fit In With The Pistons Rebuilt Roster
Allen Moll - Hoops Doctors

Does Rip Hamilton Fit In With the Pistons Rebuilt Roster? | The Hoop Doctors




Ben Wallace Back With The Pistons! One Question Why?
NY Vinnie - LeBasketbrawl

"New York Vinnie is starting some serious doubts about Detroit Pistons Team President Joe Dumars. Basically it comes down to one of two theorys. Either the Pistons have this other guy in Dumar’s position who looks and sounds like their former point guard but does not know squat about the NBA. Or the either thing that makes sense is Dumars suffered a terrible injury and his brain just does not work as well as it used to! Because if neither of those things are true why has Dumars been pulling off all these Frickin Bone Head moves for the last year?

The “Associated Press” has reported that the Pistons have signed former Pistons center Ben Wallace for the upcoming season. Wallace was traded earlier this summer with Sasha Pavlovic from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Phoenix Suns in the deal that brought Shaquille O’Neal to Cleveland. The Suns then bought Wallace out of the last year of his contract and released him.

New York Vinnie wonders if Joe Dumars watched the Eastern Conference Finals? If he did he surely saw that Wallace looked like a Frickin old man when he was on the court. The veteran was talking about hanging it up after the Playoffs why does Dumars think he can be of any Frickin help to his team in the upcoming season?

New York Vinnie has always held Joe Dumars in very high respect as he has kept his team among the top teams in the Eastern Conference this whole decade. However he started making questionable moves last summer signing the Frickin No Talent Pud Kwame Brown to a contract. Then he made the Frickin trade for Iverson and the team fell apart.

Dumars signed Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva to free agent deals last month. Gordon especially does not seem like a good signing unless Dumars plans on trading Richard Hamilton. Hamilton does become a free agent next summer so that could be the Team President’s plan. Wallace is not going to cost them a lot just the veteran minimum. But what kind of a Frickin message does it send to the fans of the Pistons? Remember how good we used to be?

So Joey D. good luck in Motown (if it is really you and not a double!) However New York Vinnie believes your team will be lucky this upcoming season just to make the Playoffs!"

Ben Wallace Back with Pistons! One Question: Why? » Le Basketbawl

__________________


"Evolution does not necessarily reward intelligence. With no natural predators to thin the herd, it began to simply reward those who reproduced the most and left the intelligent to become an endangered species." Idiocracy

Ben Wallace Gets A Fitting End In Detroit
Bethlehem Shoals - The Base Line - Sporting News

"Some things just make you feel good. Like free marshmallows, or that show where they build people a new house for free. Or bunnies getting new shoes. Or Ben Wallace finishing out his career in Detroit."

"Recall, Big Ben went to Chicago after feeling slighted in negotiations with Detroit. The Pistons, like the Patriots, are a smart, unsentimental team, and didn't want to pay him big bucks to age gracefully. It turned out to be the right decision. But at the same time, Wallace was the face of that franchise.

Before Larry Brown and Sheed showed up, he was an absolute terror on defense, blocking, stealing and intimidating everything in sight. Then, as we all know, the Pistons upset the Lakers with a team-first, defense-forever credo epitomized by Wallace, and made the Finals once more before Brown left and Big Ben turned petulant. They were never the same after that.

So let's forget about that bitterness. Wallace has returned to the team that defined him, and was defined by him. He won't save the world; his impact may be minimal. But one last turn in the trenches, in the city where he made his name, with the same lack of expectations that preceded his greatest years, is a fitting end to memorable career."

Ben Wallace Gets a Fitting End in Detroit - Bethlehem Shoals - The Baseline - Sporting News




How NBA veteran Allen Iverson ruined his career in Detroit
Dave Ryan - Examiner.com

"And just like that, Iverson was traded to Denver a mere 15 games into his 06-07 season. Carmelo Anthony, a budding superstar in his own right, already called Denver his home. Iverson had never co-existed with another scorer before, let alone a younger, more beloved version. Most Nuggets fans, although excited about the news, knew it would never work from the outset. Iverson was still viewed as a selfish player who needed the ball 95% of the time. Fans might have loved up the nights when Melo and AI each dropped 30 during those two brief seasons, but as far as logic was concerned, nobody was expecting a title in the near future.

So that's where the blockbuster trade with Detroit came into play. Three games into 08-09, the Pistons came calling with an offer too good for the Nuggets to pass up. Desperate for scoring and athleticism, Detroit swapped All-Star and NBA Finals MVP Chauncey Billups for the rights to Iverson. Most pointed towards general manager Joe Dumars' love of second year point guard Rodney Stuckey as the motivation for the trade. As far as I was concerned, my two cherished #1 Billups jerseys were rendered obsolete. Tears were shed.

After the trade was officially announced, general managers around the league immediately took notice. The common consensus was that this move came with a 99% fail rate, leaving roughly a 1% chance for it to pay off. Presently, these numbers are ridiculously accurate. If the Pistons could have gotten Iverson to defer to his teammates, take less shots, work hard in practice and god forbid, come off the bench to start games, then it would have been a win-win for all parties. Detroit would have gotten the exact type of player they were hoping they actually acquired for one year, and Iverson himself could prove to the entire world that he was capable of playing something besides a team's "resident ball-hot" when his contract expired in the summer.

Instead of beating the odds, things blew up in our face like so many had predicted. It went from lovey-dovey to turmoil-laden in a matter of months, and pretty soon Iverson wasn't even playing at all. His big chance to invest in his future at age 34 failed miserably. He might not have realized it back then, but he's certainly looking back on it now with angst. If he had never been dealt to the Pistons, Iverson would have likely scored 25 points a game on a mediocre Denver team. Another ho-hum statistical year, with his individual box scores at the forefront.

A year like that would have probably put AI in the neighborhood of $7-10 million per season (I'm just throwing numbers out here) this summer.

With no NBA team for 09-10, I firmly believe that Iverson ruined his career because of his time with the Pistons. One of the biggest things that has soured prospective NBA teams on Iverson in the past has been the perception that he cannot change his game, his mindset or his work habits. He did nothing to dispel these rumors with Detroit, and now he's left with a bunch of mid-level contracts as a sixth or seventh man. Something tells me that AI will do everything in his power to silence doubters like myself, but why should an NBA team actually give him the chance?"

How NBA veteran Allen Iverson ruined his career in Detroit