This is an excerpt from a HoopsWorld rumor mill article titled; NBA rumor mill-The year of the Ben.

THE SEASON OF THE BEN

Detroit has reason to be concerned, not because of Flip Saunders or the changes he’ll make offensively, but because the anchor for Detroit is looking for a sizable pay raise – Ben Wallace is in the final year of his contract and looks to headline the free agent class of 2006.

Detroit got Ben “on the cheap” [$6.5 million] they nabbed him before he was the defensive player of the year, a NBA All-Star and one of the elite big men in the game – this summer - someone is gonna pay him for it.

The Pistons obviously have the upper hand as they can max Ben out and keep him, but the problem becomes with all the money paid to Rasheed Wallace, Rip Hamilton and soon to Tayshaun Prince – will the Pistons have the desire to ink a $100 million deal with Ben, knowing full well they will have to pay Chauncey Billups after Ben.

The Pistons refuse to engage in that discussion now, but its coming, and whether the Pistons want to admit it or not the Chicago Bulls and the Atlanta Hawks have eyes and dollars ear marked for Big Ben, and the Pistons are gonna have to deal with the media asking every night if Ben is staying in Detroit.

Ben is gonna have to bring the offense out of the closet this season to justify the money he’ll be seeking – look for Big Ben to be huge this season, and even bigger next summer, toting around $100 million dollars.

Darko is in for a big pay raise as well in 2 years. The Pistons better open up the wallet (lord knows they have made enough money recently) or risk alienating the fans...

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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."

nope. simple as that. a 1 dimensional player is not worth 100 million and don't give me the junk about intangibles. ben better sign for less or get rolled on. darko's performance this year will definitely have a big impact on ben's negotiating leverage with the pistons. we have an up and coming true 7 footer defensive presence that brings it on offense too. jmax is a younger player similar to ben with offensive skills too. ben to me is a great player but not 100 million worth. a 100 million dollar player should be able to at least lead you to the second round alone on his back.

if ben wants 100 then let him leave.

Better get out the checkbook. The way I see it, Ben has lead us past the second round three years in a row. Or was that Memo clamping down when it really, really counted?

I want Ben to get a large contract no matter if he stays with Detroit or not. I want Tay to get a large contract no matter if he stays with Detroit or not. If Ben or Tay Leaves, they will be down in Miami taking Zo's and Toine's spots.

Nah, Memo was on the bench watching other guys start in Utah. Memo's defense is so highly regarding in Utah that they traded to get Greg Ostertag back. But as Massimo wrote on the DetNews, Memo jumped for the financial security.

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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."

ben was part of a team effort to lead us out of the second round. a guy like tmac, shaq, kobe, wade, lebron can take a team on thier back and put them in position to win every night. but ben is led us in past tense. when you sign a guy to a 100 million contract that means he's going to continue to do that at a high level. i'm all for giving ben a fat contract because of what he did for us in the past. but a 100 million contract for ben would destroy our future as a team.

honestly. i feel that with memo in the middle next to sheed we still would be kicking butt deep into the playoffs. maybe not going to the finals because i feel that ben is a great defensive player and has a definite impact on our team. just not 100 million worth. especially if you consider age and his 1 dimensional play that is becoming increasingly inneffective on younger large centers.

memo just hasn't found the right coach. i think sloan and lb are similar types of coaches. memo is a good young player and better than ostertag by far. memo jumped for financial security, plus playing time, plus getting away from lb but he made a sideways step going to sloan.

Can't say I blame Memo for taking the money. I remember when he came off the bench the first few games, and seemed to have so much more upside than Zelly.

I didn't really mean to dog out the Turk, but sometimes it just gets old reading these posts where everyone goes nuts over "potential" and "production". Ben is THE MAN. The best basketball I have ever watched was the 10 game streak of holding oponents under 70 points. The Nets celebration at scoring 71 and losing by almost 20 was priceless. The man PRODUCES. And he comes up BIG when it counts.


I don't know if any basketball player is "worth" 100 million dollars. That is an unreal amount of money to me. Might as well say one hundred zillion dollars.... But if any B-Ball player is worth it, Ben is.

...or feel my wrath of death and destruction! He made this franchise return to glory. so he is worth 'more' than what he 'thinks' worth1