Bulls Dump Big Ben
Ben, you're always running here and there
You feel you're not wanted anywhere
If you ever look behind
And don't like what you find
There's one thing you should know
You've got a place to go
(you've got a place to go)
- Michael Jackson, Ben
Yeah. Cleveland.
The Bulls dumped Ben Wallace's horrible contract today as part of a 11-player trade that occurred right at the NBA trade deadline. The Bulls didn't really get better today, but they did get a little lighter. They also included the punk Adrian Griffin and respectable veteran Joe Smith in the deal that netted the team Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, and a pair of young players I know practically nothing about. Cedric Simmons and Shannon Brown. I can tell you one thing about them, though, right now. They're my new favorite players, because practically everyone else on this team disgusts me.
But let's get back to Ben for a minute. The Ben Wallace era in Chicago can be considered nothing but an abject failure. What did his signing bring to the club? Maybe one playoff series? Would they have not beaten the Heat last spring with Tyson Chandler? I was a fan of the Wallace signing back in 2006 simply because he was a well-refined and significantly better version of Chandler. Chandler had just come off a mediocre season and horrendous one-and-done playoff series, and what better way to upgrade the team than to sign the rich man's Tyson Chandler with some Defensive Player of the Year awards on his mantle and a championship ring on his finger. The move would weaken our biggest rival, to boot. The move did anything but. Here's what I'll remember most about Ben's time in Chicago:
Rumor has it that John Paxson didn't even want to sign Ben Wallace. The word on the street is Jerry Reinsdorf forced Paxson to make the huge offer to Ben. (And thus Paxson had no choice but to trade Chandler.) I don't know if any of that's true or not, but it's not so far fetched. So while I can blame Paxson for holding his chips too long and not being aggressive enough to acquire Kobe or Gasol, I can't unequivocally blame him for the lousy Wallace signing. I think his hand might have been forced.
The good news is Cleveland is now on the books for the last $37 million or so of Ben's contract. The bad news is the Bulls are now on the hook for the last $30 million or so of Larry Hughes' contract. Hughes was sort of the "shooting guard version of Ben Wallace" in Cleveland. A major disappointment. Like Ben, though, he was pretty good in past years and maybe a change of scenery will be just what he needs. If Hughes can somehow return to his previous form, he'd be just what the Bulls have needed. A big guard who can both defend and score. This might impact the development of Thabo Sefolosha somewhat, so we'll just have to keep an eye on how that plays out. The funny thing is, I remember when the Bulls first tried to acquire Hughes, nine years ago in a deadline deal for Toni Kukoc. If they had acquired the young Hughes instead of the bum John Starks, the entire Krause post-MJ era might have gone completely different.
The Bulls also picked up Drew Gooden. He's a decent big man that can score in the post a little and rebound a little. Not sure if he'll ever be one of the three best players on a title team, but like Andres Nocioni he's not a bad guy to have around.
And that's about it. Despite the mostly wretched year and a half here, I wish Ben good luck. Maybe playing with LeBron in meaningful games will revive his career. And maybe now a third team in the East can be considered a respectable foe for the West in the Finals.