SOUR NOTE: I have seen the light!
by The Low

Well, this has definitely been an interesting 8 months since the departure of my favorite Piston, Ben Wallace.

I have spent countless hours with my friends over at PistonsForum.com debating the loss of our best defensive player and essentially the identifying figure of this franchise over the last 6 years.

What I have “learned” during this time (or have had soundly beaten into me by the snide remarks, shout-downs, and or ridicule from said friends) is the following:

1. Ben Wallace is useless
2. Ben Wallace is a detriment to the team
3. Ben Wallace is an offensive liability
4. Ben Wallace is garbage
5. Ben Wallace sucks
6. Ben Wallace is a malcontent
7. Ben Wallace is a traitor
8. Ben Wallace is a quitter
9. Ben Wallace is a pouter
10. Ben Wallace purposely mails in games to retaliate against his coach
11. Ben Wallace has NEVER gotten along with any of his coaches
12. Ben Wallace is simply chasing the money
13. Ben Wallace left Orlando, foregoing an opportunity to show loyalty, in order to chase the money in Detroit
14. Ben Wallace is apparently in worse condition and physical shape than Cliff Robinson and/or Oliver Miller and is clearly on the decline
15. Any injury Ben Wallace incurs is proof of his decline and should come as a relief that he is no longer a Piston
16. Ben Wallace EVER having a game of less than 20 rebounds is clear evidence that he is not worth being on an NBA roster
17. Ben Wallace forced coaches to leave Darko planted on the bench
18. Ben Wallace’s free throw shooting has cost us 5 titles in his 6 years as a Piston
19. The Pistons won the NBA title in 2004 despite Ben Wallace’s best efforts to screw us on offense and force his will on the coach.
20. Ben Wallace should never be allowed to touch the ball, with the exception of taking it out of bounds or handing it to the officials
21. Ben Wallace should be happy the other Pistons allow him to fetch their off-target misses like a 5 year old watching the big kids play
22. Ben Wallace is apparently mentally and physically challenged and is incapable of improving on any of the skills he currently possesses and/or learning new ones
23. Ben Wallace isn’t “fun to watch.”
24. Ben Wallace proves his inferiority by not successfully warding off 3 opposing players for each rebound
25. Ben Wallace should be able to defend any and all players in the lane simultaneously while the other four players allow dribble penetration and immediately run out on the fast break to receive a pass from “Super Wallace” who has meanwhile shoulder blocked and out rebounded 4 players while leaping 15 ft into the sky
26. Ben Wallace is not a good defensive player, he was simply 4-time Defensive Player of the Year because they had no one else to pick and they needed a name to add to the list of the only players to ever accomplish the feat
27. The Pistons can now get on with winning “real” titles sans the malcontent oxygen-wasting team-killing cancer in the middle.

I have see the light and will now repent my sins. Amen.

Ben left voluntarily. We forumites didn't cause it to happen. He turned down a deal that would have made him the highest paid Piston in history. Now, he's putting up worse stats for a team that has a worse record than us.

What did he ever do for us, except change the culture of the team, and win us a Championship? Nothing.

Well, I do see some validity to numbers 3, 9, 12, and 17. But not quite as black and white as you state them.


Oh yeah, then there were his infamous connections to Saddam and the Taliban ...


Ben was a great acquisition by the Pistons and he served the team well for many years. But I do believe that the Pistons and the league...as Ben knew them...had moved on. Not saying this was a good thing, but it happened.

Honestly, I knew I'd catch some crap for this one.

But, at the end of the day, I needed to get it off my chest and put it to bed (as much for myself as for anybody else's sake).

It wasn't so much about whether he got screwed or not. For me, I took issue with forumites that actively sought to revise history and essentially eliminate Ben Wallace's efforts from the team's success. Then, challenge my status as a "fan" for not being happy to see him go.

I've said my peace and will cease debate on the matter from here on out.

__________________

Nothing pumped me up more when I was watching basketball than when Ben Wallace would go through one of his energy bursts. It wasn't only defense. When he got rolling, it would be offensive rebounds, tip-dunks, alley-oops, loose balls, you name it. Even the occasional mid-range jumper. And on D, he was so good that Stern had to change the rules of the game, just so other teams would break the 70 point barrier. It's really hard to not like this guy.

When I found out he was going to the Bulls, it was a nice consolation prize for me. It gave me a reason to like a Bulls team that I otherwise had no interest in.

Sadly we were in a no-win situation last summer. His market value exceeded his actual value by a few Million $ per year. And he seemed ready for a change, which is why he didn't bother negotiating with us.

Even though the Bulls probably overpaid, they still have a great player on their hands who can help them win a Championship in the short-run. If I were them, I would probably take a good look at trading Ben Gordon for Gasol. I believe that move would free up Ben and enable him to get back to his glory days.

__________________
"If I'm sitting there arguing with the officials, I'm giving an alibi for the team." MC

I think their problem lies in that the player they were contemplating shipping to MEM was Deng.

IMO they CANNOT do that. They NEED to be able to put Gasol, Wallace, and Deng on the floor together. That would give them a ridiculously quick front line and cause havoc for most teams in the East with pretty slow or ineffective front court players.

Deng is definately untouchable.

I would like to see a starting line-up of:

Hinrich
Duhon
Deng
Wallace
Gasol

with Nocioni coming off the bench.

The Bulls are a jump shooting team, which is their weakness. However, if you had a true post pressence like Pau, then I think it would become their strength... as they would all have open J's.

Ben Gordon is great, but his crazy shots wouldn't be needed in that scheme.

It would be fun to see the Pistons/Bulls rivalry restored.

That would definitely bring some fire back to it. I'm not sure if Nocioni should be starting.

I've seen Duhon disappear in stretches and when he feels lost, he seems to think that the solution is to hoist a 3. Plus, I have to believe Skiles would be able to utilize Pau's passing skills to get Ben quite a few open shots upon being double teamed.

I will say that some of Gordon's wildness got them some buckets in crunch time before the refs handed TOR that game.

Gordon would not be easy to let go. But you gotta give some value if you are going to convince Memphis to part with Gasol.

You can't give Deng, and if you give up Hinrich, then you're losing your Chauncey. I think that of those 3, Gordon is the most expendable to the Bulls. But I think he is a better player than Hinrich and on par with Deng. It's a tough call.

Right now, they seem to be coming up a little short though. And with a player like Ben, they may as well take an aggressive shot at it right now.

__________________
"If I'm sitting there arguing with the officials, I'm giving an alibi for the team." MC

I do agree with you there. They really need to give a little to boost their offensive production. They need to counterbalance Wallace and PJ Brown...that's really what we were able to do. We couldn't live off our offense, but we could counter our dominate defense with enough offense to get the job done and remain balanced. It just seems odd giving up Gordon, but I seriously doubt MEM would be willing to take Nocioni.