Should The Raptors Make An Offer To Ben Wallace?

[jrdyck]

If the Raps decide to go with a raw big man like Hassan Whiteside in the draft, Wallace would be invaluable in helping to develop him on the defensive/rebounding side of things. A minimum salary would be ideal ($1.35 mill for vets of 10+ years).

That being said, I'm not sure I'd want him playing 25+ minutes, especially if Amir is back. Maybe more like 10-15, spelling Bargnani when he needs a breather.

[Buddahfan]

Amen. That stings a little because I'm a huge Wallace fan. At this point in his career he'd be my last resort.

For the heck of it we have the 1 year defensive ratings from Basketballvalue.com. Basketbalvalue.com 1 year defensive ratings ranked Johnson #1 and Wallace #2. What this means is that when Johnson and Wallace were on the court vs off the court their respective teams favorable points allowed on vs off court differential was greater than for all other players in the league. Since they didn't play for the same team one did not benefit from the other.

Yes Wallace can't play 35 - 40 minutes in any more but he can still play 25-30 mpg. In addition to his defensive ratings his rebounding rate per 36 minutes was 10.9 which was higher than Bosh's 10.8.

I think that Wallace can still bring it for 25+ mpg as his numbers from last year showed and that the Raptors interior defense would be the best in the league when and he and Johnson would be playing together.

Would the Raptors score enough with Wallace and Johnson at the #4 and #5. For limited minutes of 15 or so that they were together it is my opinion that that five man unit would outscore the Raptors opponents in most games. Both of them were in the top 30 in the league in 1 year overall rating.

Yes there may be some players among the leaders in those ratings that no one would expect, so go ahead and point them out, it won't alter my opinion of the on court effectiveness of both Johnson and Wallace

Remember, I am not suggesting a major investment here. Maybe $2 million a year offer for one or two years at the most. If it doesn't work out then Wallace can be a better version of POB sitting on the end of the bench. However, his game today is still a heck of a lot better than Reggie's is. That is 4sure.

http://basketballvalue.com/topplayer...&sortorder=ASC

http://www.basketball-reference.com/...wallabe01.html

[mmissile]

They're better off finding someone who has the same mindset with young legs. Amir Johnson wouldn't be a bad choice...

Amen. That stings a little because I'm a huge Wallace fan. At this point in his career he'd be my last resort.

[A00715890]

Why not Johnson and Wallace instead of Reggie?

Buy out Reggie's contract for a couple of million and pay a couple of million to Wallace and save one million for 2010-11. Sounds like a good plan to me.

you do realize Evans contract is expiring right? why would you want to buy him out? he will be a great trade bait...

and Ben Wallace is washed up...and i herd while back that he doesn't fit too well with European players...not a good fit at all....no thanks...just stick to amir

[Dave]

Ben Wallace didn't play any better last season than he did the year before with the Cavs. He simply got more minutes.

I think the Raptors should only pursue Ben Wallace if they have a squad capable of making a long playoff run. Otherwise, I'd rather give that playing time to a younger player and develop him.

[Buddahfan]

They're better off finding someone who has the same mindset with young legs. Amir Johnson wouldn't be a bad choice...

Why not Johnson and Wallace instead of Reggie?

Buy out Reggie's contract for a couple of million and pay a couple of million to Wallace and save one million for 2010-11. Sounds like a good plan to me.

[Apollo]

They're better off finding someone who has the same mindset with young legs. Amir Johnson wouldn't be a bad choice...

[My Name is "D-Nice"]

NO!

[Marz]

If he'll sign with the Raptors for a contract similar to Rasho's, then I wouldn't mind. But I think he's going to be looking for a contender.

[Buddahfan]

good numbers but i still say no

Why not?

Too old for you or for some other reason?

Buy out Evans for say $2 - $3 million or trade him and use that money for Wallace. Wallace is still a lot better than Evans is.

[LBF]

good numbers but i still say no

[Buddahfan]

He had a one year deal with the Pistons in 2009-10 for $1.3 million which might have been the vets minimum. He had a heck of a season and call still play very good defense.

Should the Raptors offer him maybe a two year deal at say $4-5 million total

Is Ben Wallace a Hall of Famer?

Austin Burton

It’s funny how many people haven’t realized the NBA doesn’t give out “Comeback Player of the Year” anymore. Back in the mid-’80s — not coincidentally, during the Crack Boom — David Stern realized the CPOY award was starting to become the “Who recovered from a drug problem?” trophy, so he phased it out and turned it into the Most Improved Player award. There hasn’t been a CPOY since 1986, and yet even today, you’ll get people arguing for guys like Grant Hill and Shaun Livingston to win an award that doesn’t exist.

If there was a Comeback Player of the Year, though, in 2010 it would have belonged to Ben Wallace. After he appeared to be washed-up over the last couple years with the Bulls and Cavs, Big Ben returned to Detroit this season and proved he can still play. Though injuries limited him to 69 games, Wallace averaged 5.5 points, 8.7 rebounds (leading the team) and 1.2 blocks as the Pistons’ (in 29mpg) full-time starting center..

He will be 36 in September.

cont on link

http://dimemag.com/2010/05/is-ben-wa...hall-of-famer/