Bulls to sign another Ben?
ESPN is reporting that the Bulls are in negotiations with Detroit free agent Center Ben Wallace. Ben Wallace won Defensive Player of the Year several times, and can rebound and block shots as well as anyone in the league. His scoring is nill, of course, but he's so good on defense that it doesn't really matter. He's a rich man's Tyson Chandler. Scott Skiles and John Paxson flew to Detroit to meet with Big Ben in person. (Wonder if Skiles tried staring HIM down?) Wallace was reportedly insulted by Detroit's latest offer, while the Bulls offer is about $10-million better at this point.
The money they are talking about is huge for a 32-year old big man, but not Tyson Chandler huge. If you think of it that way, the deal is a no brainer. Chandler has been in the league for five years now and I think it's obvious that he's not going to turn into the Tim Duncan that Jerry Krause envisioned. He's certainly serviceable and a sparkplug on defense, but he's prone to foul trouble and will thus disappear in big games. Signing Wallace would practically force John Paxson to trade Chandler, and I think they should be able to get something decent for the 23-year old. Sign (Wallace) and trade (Chandler), baby.
In other free agent news, the Bulls are interested in Joey Przybilla. He's a typical big white stiff, no better than your average Luc Longley. He's probably just a fallback in case they don't land Wallace, and his signing wouldn't warrant a trade of Chandler. Personally, I'd rather not sign him. Not because I think he's a bad player, but because I can't spell his name without hitting NBA.com.
Update (9:00 PM) - ESPN is reporting it's a done deal, Wallace is in the fold. Sweet! John Paxson has done something that Jerry Krause could never do; sign a marquee free agent. The closest Krause ever came was probably Ron Harper or Brent Barry, but neither were even All-Stars let alone MVP candidates. Great job, Johnny! Now hit the phones and see what you can get for Tyson.