Agree with all points. In fact, I'm going to find it pretty distasteful if Ben gets booed. Nobody ought to boo the guy who more than any of the others brought this town a title and a close miss on another. Surely we're not that petty.

News Archive. from Magic players are popular: Ben Wallace, Bo Outlaw, Chucky Atkins and Monty Williams are Orlando's latest free agents sought by others. - Market Size, Market Share and Demand Forecast

Sorry Low, it was not a trade. Detroit would have signed Ben even if Orlando did not want to play ball on a s&t.

below is from the Orlando Sentinel in the summer of 2000 - before the deal happend.
This was after Hill agreed to sign with Orlando and before Ben agreed to sign here. There
was a month lag between Hill agreeing with the Magic and the deal actually happening.
In that time Dumars coaxed Ben to come here and he and the Orlando GM later agreed to do a sign/trade for cap reasons. Recall that there was a 1 month waiting period between when FA's could agree and when the contract was actually signed.

He's not really getting booed here. He just went through a huge stretch where he was doing everything for the team.

He is currently

2nd in MPG
1st in Rebs
5th in assists
1st in steals
1st in blocks
6th in points.
1st in help defense*

That is exactly what they thought they'd be getting when they signed him.


* unofficial stat

The sign-and-trade talk regarding Ben's initial move to Detroit also raises this point: once the Bulls made Ben their big offer this past summer, didn't that pretty much eliminate any chance of pulling off a sign and trade? He was moving to a team in the same division, so why would he agree to a move that would (when compared to just signing with them outright) weaken his new team while strengthening his now-division-rival former team?

One more archive

Wallace is all business about move to Pistons. - Market Size, Market Share and Demand Forecast

Max, nice research. I forgot about some of those negotiating details.

I wonder if Ben can co-exist with Skiles. Skiles is a little beetch, and Ben, as we have seen, has very little patience for coaches who get petty with him. But I guess as long as Scotty stresses defense, Ben will be OK.

As long as the Bulls win, they will both get along. Both men are fierce competitors.

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Nov 13 LW Milan Lucic had an active night. He scored his first goal in eight games since his Oct. 25 hat trick and also pounded Michael Komisarek in a third-period fight. Lucic cut his hand in a fight with Michael Komisarek. "I'll be fine," he said. "(X-rays are) negative, but there's so many broken bones in there from before you can't really tell."

I completely forgot as well. Good memory Max. I don't think anyone thought he would have that much impact though. His upside at the time paled in comparison to Grant Hill's worth. Ben's hard work and effort made a deal that seemed initially like Ben was getting over turn into one of the biggest bargains in Pistons history.

I think he tries to hide his emotions as part of his tough guy facade.

Anyhow, if the fans boo he will say what all players say "I don't care...they paid their money so they can boo...I didn't even notice it...yada yada yada."

If they cheer he will say what all players say "It made me feel so great when I heard them and they showed they appreciated all my years there...yada yada yada"

How can they hear the applause but not hear the boos?????

It's a bunch of B.S. Most players DO care irregardless of what they say publicly.

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"Quite simply captain, I examined the problem from all angles, and it was plainly hopeless. Logic informed me that under the circumstances, the only logical action would have to be one of desperation. Logical decision, logically arrived at." -- Spock