The Ben Wallace Conundrum

Hmmm... interesting… but I gotta say, the whole ben wallace thing scares me. Making a run into the playoffs for two years sounds like fun, but at what long term expense. Don't forget we're going to have CV3's contract to deal with in a couple of years, and I'd rather have him then Wallace at that stage of his career. Besides i doubt that lineup could win a championship, and with all your cap flexibility gone, you're going to be stuck.

I say stay the course, draft the best player (Thomas? Aldridge? Bragnani?). Bring over Ukic, keep stock piling youth and next year with the great free agency pool and a solid draft make your BIG splash.

Afteral we've waited this long, let's see it through and be around competing for countless years.

The draft day deal is interesting but I don't think it returns enough. Make it:

1st, 56th & Eric Williams
for
12th, 15 & 42

and I might consider it. We dump some salary and upgrade the 2nd rounder while we are at it. As for Wallace... nah. He has a couple of superior years left and then a fast decline imo - this means that his value to the Raps is held in these three possible, and perhaps concurrent, outcomes:

- a play-off spot and/or
- a couple years of good mentoring for Bosh et al and/or
- good trade return if traded to a contender a few years from now

That isn't near enough for me. We also truncate a decent rebuild situation that just invested heavily in draft picks (per the proposed trade). Just not worth it imo.

I don't believe Ben Wallace is a good fit, for a number of reasons. Before I address why he doesn't fit, I'd first like to say taht I find it incredulous that people even talk about trading Charlie V. He's young, talented, with exceptional upside in the 20-10/night range for many, many years to come. He's also one of the best bargains in the league, and any doubts of his ability to play with Bosh have been put to rest. He is a constant mismatch, and Colangelo is not going to be trading him anywhere. As for Wallace, he is a bad contract waiting to happen. Too many years, too much money, too much potential for drastic decline in abilities. We should be patient and understand that the time to bring on a veterean like him is 1-2 years away.

Wow, that is something that I had never considered. Big Ben and all of his flair in a raptors uniform. First of all, I do not think that Wallace would consider playing for the raptors. Pretty much for the same reasons as he would not consider playing for Atlanta. How many high profile players have wanted to play for the raptors? Hakeem because he was a bust and got 2x the money from the raptors that he could get from anyone else?

Ultimatly I do not think that the raptors should try for ben wallace. He is a great player, and will continue to perform at a high level for 2 more years, but I dont like his attitude very much. He is a very cocky player, and that fits perfectly with the pistons, as they are a very cocky team (not so much as individuals except the wallaces but rather as a team on the whole). With the raptors having so many young players I would not want to have the sure attitude of a ben wallace tainting the great team chemistry that the raptors had last year.

I dont want CV Smooth getting complacent because he thinks he is better than the next person, or can score at will.

ALso I am not sure that Wallace would fit in the team. Assuming that Mike James leaves, we will be looking for more scoring. I am expecting CV Smooth to pick up the scoring, but I would not expect mo pete to do any more than he did this year. Mo P will keep averaging his 15 or so points that he has every year. In this case I think we need someone who can score more than 2 points.

That being said, I still like your draft strategy. We would get a big body to help interior (hey, I can live with Pape, Arajou, and Bonner manning the center for 10 min each a game), and perhaps be a big time player in a few years. ANd we would get a PG with leadership and a vetran who has been aroud for a while.

That being said, I still would not mind keeping the 1st pick and going with Bargani, or Gay, or Morrison. Draft express seemed pretty high on Morrison with his workout, and has proven that he can play. He can also shoot great. Gay is the athletic player that can shoot, and I can see him playing SF and some SG. Bargaini, I dont konw where he would fit in, but the talent is there (so people are saying)

I am not sold on Aldridge. He is too much of a Chris Bosh player. Skinny and tall. More of a shooter, and less of a post player. I dont think that Bsh and Aldridge would fit in very well. And I am sure that BOsh is stronger than Aldridge is right now, so if they were playing together, I would think that Bosh would be playing center....which he would most likely be doing with aldridge as well.

PS I heard from somewhere that Spliiter has dropped his name out of the draft...is this true??

Keep up the great articles...you guys are my raptors fix every day ;) (do you know of any other good websites?)

My first question is why would you trade the first pick for 2 mid range picks? the raps have been selecting mid range for too long...is it for the money?

I see the Ben Wallace proposal similar to what the Heat offered Shaq...I would say yes in a heartbeat IF wallace was the leader and team player that shaq is , but he's not! Therefore I would not offer him something long term that can endanger the raps chances.

I think we need depth and earl watson is not gonna take this team to the next level people!

Funny thing about perceptions. Above, Scott wants to stay away from Wallace because of his attitude...if anything, that is why I would go after him (not saying I'm sold on the idea, but if so...).

What is one person's cockiness is another's swagger...something the Raps could certainly use. The kind of attitude he would bring to the team, especially on defense, is exactly what this club needs. Until the outburst in the playoffs, he's generally been seen as a great teammate and exactly the kind of guy you want as the heart of your team (or at least my perception is such). Just imagine how much freedom he would create for Bosh and CV on the court.

The idea of a S&T for Charlie is, however, ridiculous in my opinion...if we want Ben then just sign him. He is not restricted, we are not over the cap...we do not need to give up anything for him (except lots and lots of money and cap flexibility).

Admitting the above, however, doesn't mean I think Charlie is untouchable. I do think he has big potential and I've liked him since the pick was made. But he also has pretty high trade value right now and for all that he's shown, I'm not convinced that "any doubts of his ability to play with Bosh have been put to rest". Yes, they click well together on offense...but with those two in your line-up, you are going to be a soft, weak-defensive team. If I could get high value for Charlie and open space for a more natural 3, I would consider it. But I could also be happy watching CV and Bosh grow together for the next 10 years.

To the original question that was posted in the article, how much would I shell out for Ben...maybe 4 years, $46 million (10,11,12,13). By the end, he is certainly not going to be worth it....but it will take at least that (and likely more) to sign him. And with the lower first year salary, there is enough room to still sign a PG: Claxton, Mo Pete, CV, Bosh, Big Ben is suddenly not a bad defensive team...add in a pretty solid bench and that is a team that will challenge for home-court in the playoffs. And that doesn't even take account of the first pick.

That we are even talking about this possiblity, no matter how far-fetched or unlikely, is a sign of how exciting things are in Raptor-land these days...good times.

Hoffa's been traded to the Jazz for Kris Humphries and Robert Whaley!!!

Giving up #1 overall and getting #'s 12 and 15 in return is not enough. Back to the drawing board, guys.

Guys, I'm not sure I'd want Wallace. But to say that he has two, maybe three good years left is, i predict, a massive underestimation of this guy. Remember Rodman was a rebounding idiot well into his late thirties and he did it with pure heart. Big Ben has that same spirit and I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him contributing in big ways for 5-6 more years. But if he goes anywhere, which I doubt, he'd be wise to pick Chi-town so Chandler, who is a younger version of a bag of hammers when he's at the 5, can move to PF where he belongs and the Bulls could make some deep runs for a couple of years.

The Wallace the Pistons need to lose is Sheed.

Let me get this straight - you're going to trade the #1 pick for two picks in the teens? That's the worst value in the world! The likelihood of either of those picks turning into anything more than bench players is pretty damn low. This draft only has two players who are guaranteed to be stars - Aldridge and Thomas (and no, Adam Morrison or Bargnani do not make that list - too many question marks). To trade that far back you'd better be getting amazing value in return. Think about this - in the past twenty years only four #1 overall picks (Olowakandi, Kwame, Joe Smith and Pervis Ellison) have not played in at least one all-star game. How many #12 picks have been in an all-star game in the same time - one (Vladimir Radmanovic).

how about this: 1st pick and charliev for jermaine o'neal and #17