Ok, not the Big Baby rumors are old but guess who the Pistons are looking at to fill an oh so important roster spot. Big Ben….
A. Sherrod Blakely of MLive
“While there’s no deal imminent, the Pistons are going to explore the possibility of bringing one of the franchise’s greatest defenders, back to Detroit.
Detroit has about $3.5 million to use towards free agents, but would probably not use all of that to sign Wallace.
Boston’s Glen Davis remains an option, but the Pistons are reluctant to make him an offer because he’s a restricted free agent. And the Celtics have said repeatedly that any reasonable offer Davis receives – and Detroit’s offer would fall under that category – they would match.”
Now don’t get me wrong, I will forever be a fan of Ben Wallace. I will celebrate that he brought this team back from obscurity with his work ethic and determination but……….
I just don’t think he’s got what it takes to play the game the way he used to. His glory days are behind him and contrary to popular belief Arnie Kandor is a magician, but he doesn’t possess the fountain of youth serum in his bag of tricks.
We truly have started to rebuild so tell me how bringing Ben Wallace back makes any sense. I’m putting it to a vote for you, but you know how I already feel.
UPDATE: Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press says the Pistons have no interest in Wallace.
“a person with knowledge of the situation said today that the Pistons are not looking at Wallace, 34, because his career appears to be on the decline.”
July 15, 2009 at 3:00 am
I dont think people understand the situation that we’re in. people keep running off their mouths saying “we need a big man, we need a big man.” Okkkkay, well where do you guys think we’re gonna get this “big man.” Sit down in your school chairs, bring out the paper & crayons and write down all the teams that would wanna trade their “big man” for a 30+ yr old player. Dont get me wrong, “rip” puts up his numbers but teams realize that championships are won structured with a big frontcourt. Rip is the best player on the team. Hes our leading scorer and occasionally our leading assist man and you guys wanna trade him. As far as free agency, there is no real “big man.” We have to take whatever is lefted. So whats the harm in signing Big Ben for one year, “nothing”. Hes a big body thats gonna wear down post players with the limited mins he gets and who cant use that. Wanna be GMs, “understand the situation!!!!”
July 15, 2009 at 3:09 am
I cant wait to see that bandwagon come around. I see some of you guys lining up already.
July 15, 2009 at 5:46 am
Why are the Spurs the best team over the last decade or more? They have stability, consistency, and keep their core intact. They let Pop guide the ship – even with no “ship”. They have a veteran group with a few young cats. Joe once said that they had the model that he was looking at and that only weak teams “rebuild” – well we are “rebuilding and we are weak. Why not bring Ben Wallace back to lead and retire? We need legacy in D-town. We need consistency. Joe D. vacillates too much for consistent success.
July 15, 2009 at 7:16 am
Bro I am speaking the truth, as a basketabll palyer and a fan, instead of running your mouth understand what i am saying.
July 15, 2009 at 7:45 am
http://www.detnews.com/article/20090715/SPORTS0102/907150343/1127/rss13/Ben+Wallace+considers+return+to+Pistons
wallace has reached out to the pistons
July 15, 2009 at 8:30 am
Now that Ben Wallace is available. Why not bring him back for the veterans minimum I think he could see play an important role in helping out with some of the youngsters on the team. Plus help out in certain situations. Joe D. could still go out and find yet another big man with the $3.4 million he has to spend. Is that correct? After all, how much worse could Ben be than bringing in Dale Davis, Theo Ratliff, or even Chris Webber at the time?
July 15, 2009 at 9:03 am
Marcell, the pistons are rebuilding. so i want ben wallace to retire as a piston but apperantley im not joe d to make that desicion!!
July 15, 2009 at 9:52 am
remember he was hurt last year too a lot people
July 15, 2009 at 9:53 am
that might of been it to but i distinctly remember hearing reports that ben was upset because he thought Flip was spending too much practice time on offense and not enough on defense
July 15, 2009 at 11:36 am
ok, we trade Rip for Boozer or whoever and make him play center. then we sign stackhouse and big ben and let them retire Pistons as it seems they both want. lol
we should srsly get Big Ben though
July 15, 2009 at 2:12 pm
We have NO other center besides Kwame. Ben’s game declined because people expeced him to be something he’s not. He’s not gonna get you 10 pts 10 brds & 2 blocks a night. He never was that kind of player. But he will buy us at least 15 to 20 minutes a night against Shaq, Howard, Yao, Duncan or who ever else. With Ben we will have 2 of the better defensive centers in the league. With the scorers we have around Ben now, we don’t have to worry about hiding him on offense anymore. CV will bring the 4 away from the basket with his mid range jumper & BG’s 3’s will spread the floor as well. Plus it’s 1 season. Name a center available now that can come in & be an immediate impact the way Ben MAY be able to. Gortat Big Baby & Verajao were the only players worth looking at & none of them would have made much of a difference. Ben is the perfect fit. Also we need to hire BL as an assistant to work with CV & Kwame. He can teach him the mental aspect of the game & toughness.
July 15, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Verajao 8pts 7rebs
Big Baby 7pts 4rebs
Big Ben 3pts 7rebs
Gortat 3pts 5rebs
Reggie Evans 3pts 4rebs
Chris Wilcox 7pts 4rebs
Ben loses out in scoring but of all of the players on that list, who would you rather put up against Shaq & Howard? Hell who would you put up again’s Sheed & KG or Amare or Duncan or Dirk? ben is still a capable defender & was a starter last season before he got hurt for the best team in the league.
July 15, 2009 at 2:21 pm
That’s who i wanted out of the draft too…
July 15, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Really, I wouldn’t mind having him off the bench for the vet minimum. I think he could be another body in there if anything. What I think is we sign him and possibly drew gooden because the vets minimum doesn’t affect the cap. I really believe we will then be deeper in the front court, plus i wouldn’t have to see Tay struggle at the 4 if we are in foul trouble and he has to play that position.
July 15, 2009 at 2:29 pm
then later on we can sign billups and rip back and hell why not little lindsay hunter too and they can all be one big happy family in their piston retirement ahahahaha lmao jk. But I do agree just because Ben would be another big body though.
July 15, 2009 at 2:54 pm
This came out of nowhere but given the situation when I saw them bring the Coach from the 04′ season why not? Sign for a veteran’s minimum w/out affecting the cap it’s a win-win situation. I admit I first had my doubts but everybody knew the Pistons when they won in 04′ with Big Ben even the rookies we have now. They all remember Big Ben’s toughness . Not to mention Rip and Tay would be invigorated again. They would have a good leader in the locker room. The atmosphere would be electric bringing back the possibility of putting the fans back to the Palace……who knows but here’s something to think about…. The Lakers brought back a key piece from the Lakers Kobe-Shaq dynasty his name is Derek Fisher and he had a 2 yr contract his 2nd yr he won a Championship making key plays during the Orlando series..hmmmmmm
July 15, 2009 at 3:10 pm
We can’t understand what you’re saying because it’s not legible.
July 15, 2009 at 3:27 pm
VERY TRUE!
July 15, 2009 at 9:13 pm
I would take him at the right price. But with only 3.2 million dollars left to spend and a gaping hole up front, we need to spend that money on someone younger with more to offer (Glen Davis?). I reckon Big Ben would play better here than anywhere else, but 5ppg 5rpg maximum in my opinion. If we can get a good big man like Davis and B. Wallace for 3.2 million dollars, I’d take that. Can’t see it happening though.
July 15, 2009 at 10:47 pm
THE VETERAN MINIMUM DOESN’T EFFECT THE CURRENT CAP SPACE!!!
I would still probably start him over Kwame.
July 15, 2009 at 11:01 pm
Guys, we desparately need a backup center. We’re obviously not going to get a franchise-level center this offseason, which means Kwame will be our starter next year. And that’s fine – he’ll be a decent starter and I have no problem with him whatsoever. The problem is that we have absolutely no other centers on the roster. Drew Gooden and Glen Davis aren’t the answer – they’re power forwards, not centers (remember, there is a difference!). Even at his advanced age Big Ben is still a solid option as a backup center, assuming we can sign him to a short-term contract for around $2 million/year. That would be an absolute STEAL in today’s NBA. I think this is our best option unless we want to play a power forward in the backup center position, which in my opinion is a really stupid thing to do. The only other option we have is to trade for an underappreciated “cast-off” type of center (Dalembert or Tyson Chandler come to mind) – but, obviously there is no guarantee that we could pull off either of these moves. The safest move is just to make a lowball offer to Big Ben and hope that he takes it.
July 16, 2009 at 5:28 am
What everyone should remember is that they’ll be able to pick up Ben for a song essentially. They’ll give him the veteran minimum, $1.3 million, and it doesn’t count against the cap. Take the deal. Right now the Pistons have 3 big men. Give Ben a spot on the bench
July 16, 2009 at 7:41 am
“his career appears to be on the decline”
that would have been the understatement of the year his first year in chicago. the corpse of ben wallace has no place on a basketball court anymore. matt over at dbb even said he’d be an improvement over what we got now. i’m willing to bet recent stats prove that kwame brown has more to offer than ben wallace, if that’s not reason enough to retire i don’t know what is.
July 16, 2009 at 1:22 pm
If the money is right, I would take Big Ben back. The only concern is he tends to prefer playing for defensive minded coaches and they talk about Kuester’s skills with the offense so…
July 16, 2009 at 2:20 pm
hes talkin about wen he STARTED, not his season averages
July 16, 2009 at 2:52 pm
and that’s why we don’t listen to idiots
July 18, 2009 at 9:49 am
Would you guys honestly like to see the Pistons go out there and spend a lump of money on Ben Wallace when we could possibly go after a young guy like Wilcox who has a lot of time to develope his game and become a solid bigman?
I’m sure Big Ben wouldn’t settle for a low-ball contract offer. If he was down for being a low salary player he would have never left Detriot in the first place.
Resigning Ben is not at all worth it if he demands as much as the Pistons have to offer, which would not surprise me at all if he asked for such a contract. Go out and get Wilcox who can spend a year or two and really develope offensively and defensively and can produce some solid numbers for Detriot as a starting center.
July 18, 2009 at 7:37 pm
were getting wilcox!!!http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4338838
July 21, 2009 at 4:43 am
i want ben wallace back to detroit instead og geln big baby davis and ia also want drew gooden and boozer ^^