Does Ben Wallace = $100 Mill?

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.

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?

Wakee wakee

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.

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.

They will pay Ben.....

...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

he has also came up small the first 2 games of the nba finals. he was dogged out repeatedly by shaq in the ecf. he produces but not 100 million type production. a basketball player is worth 100 million because his team and the league is making at least 200 million off of him.

ben's weaknesses are covered up by the greatness of the team around him. he doesn't need to be great on offense because he has a team around him. the pistons are built as a team. once you start going towards 1 star fat contract style of teams we lose our edge against the rest of the league.

I don't think it would be wise to max Ben out for 6 years...
However there may be ways to work around it where both parties are happy.
Ben's endorsements value is much higher here than any other city... I'm sure he recognizes the added value of staying in the D.

We could give him a big front loaded contract for 4 years.
After that he can be an Ambassador for the team for what ever Mr. D feels the loyalty factor is worth... stay home and play with his cars for 10M per... of course this is all determined after the contract is over ;);)
Maybe come out a few times a year for PR stuff.

It should make for a smooth transition in the changing of the centers when Darko is ready to take over full time when his new contract is inked.

Of course we will reward Ben

for past and future exploits. But $100Million???

This came out of the blue, as far as what I have been thinking. I could see rewarding Ben and Ben seeing that such a huge salary as that would probably tear down whatever plans we have for the future.

I have been thinking along the lines of $60M because Chauncey and Darko will be coming up for contracts. After that, many more. I don't believe that we have anyone signed on a lifetime contract.

Our team with nobody getting a Shaq-like wage has been deep into the playoffs for several years now but if we set up that kind of a salary structure, we will not be going there much longer.

When it comes to TENS of millions, what difference can it possibly make when it comes to your lifestyle and supporting your family and leaving millions to your heirs. It is just a matter of pride, making more than anyone else until the next round of contracts are signed. Now, championships. That is what pride should be about.

But what do I know about what the super athletes feel? I am just a poor slob trying to afford to go to a game once in a while.

BBalljay does not comprend the true value of Big Ben... it's not in how pretty your shot is or if Shaq dominated you (like who doesn't he dominate?)... this seems motivated by getting Darko front and center sooner?
Ben was our 2nd best playoff performer... maybe #1 when you factor in hustle plays and defense.

my mention of shaq dominating ben was just because linwood brough up ben coming up big when it counts. i just pointed out 2 times when it really counted the ecf and the nba finals where bring didn't come up big.

darko's time is coming whether ben gets re signed or not. ben may have been our second best playoff performer just simply not 100 million dollars worth of performance. ben was also our achilles heel often in the playoffs letting the other teams bigs rest on him on defense and basically playing zone and killing tays post up and rips curls and our drives. a 100 million dollar player doesn't let the other team do that.

I think we'll see a lot more off the ball movement where Ben get's screens for free movement to the hoop... what center is gonna keep up with Ben... even if the defender is parked uder the basket he'll have to fight through screens... this is a better system for Ben.
Unlike Lee I'm not suggesting Ben never shoot mid range shots... I still think he has potential to hit a decent % and keep the D honest.

Bad news. Ben ain't signing

Per Blakely at mlive.com just now, no way Ben is signing a contract extension with us. If we want to keep him, it will be a max contract. And I am feeling bad about the chances of keeping him around.

Ok, so if Ben failed on Shaq, how did we win the 'ship on 2004, and beat the Heat in 2005? Seems like Ben did well enough to get past the "100 million dollar player that single handedly carries the team to victory". Isn't that Shaq? Didn't Ben play longer into the post season than Shaq?

Let's just say we choose not to keep Ben, and instead look for someone who can guard Shaq and put up 20 points per game. Do you have any candidates? Anyone in the league who can defend like Ben and score like KG? That isn't Ben, KG, or Shaq? (ohmygod... if you say Darko...)

Where is this stuff coming from

If Amare at 24, a ridiculous offensive threat and physical freak gets 80 something million, theres no way a 31!!! year old gets 100 million. Even if Ben was mid twenties this year, I still would be hard pressed to give someone that 1 dimensional that max. Not only does he have no individual offesnive skills, he can't hit free throw. The only reason I would give him more than the 8 mil a year is due to his past accomplishements, but that is all. A max deal would kill this team--good luck signing Darko, Delfino, and Billups in 2 years. ITs these rumors that push these contracts to these levels.

Also, the disturbing thought is that Ben will try to do too much offensivley this year to boost his pay threshold. Wont that be pleasant.

That was ASB just speculating about it possibly costing the team $60-$65M over five years..... nothing from a team source.