I’m DereksConscience, a new voice here on Hitting Back. My job is to provide another point of view and keep Derek in check. With that in mind, I have a few words to say about Ben Wallace, now former Chicago Bull.

Way back in the summer of 2006, the Chicago Bulls decided that their team needed an upgrade. With plenty of money to spend, GM John Paxson decided to get a lot older with free agent Ben Wallace, inked to a 4 year, $60 million contract. The move was questionable at the time - the Bulls had a duplicate player in Tyson Chandler, who was younger, cheaper, and taller - and grew more indefensible as time went on. Hindsight is 20/20, but it’s difficult to understand why the Bulls decided to get rid of Chandler only to bring in Wallace. There was no problem here with trading Tyson Chandler if the idea was to go in a new direction. Free agents Joel Prizbilla or Chris Wilcox would’ve made a lot more sense as cheap stopgaps.

Although Wallace provided some help in 2006-2007, he had clearly declined from his peak. As a 6′7″ PF/C, Wallace relied on superior strength and athleticism to play his position. As a 32 year old man, the legs simply weren’t there any more. The Bulls did make the playoffs and advanced past the first round, but attributing this success to Wallace is foolish. By the beginning of this season, it was clear that Wallace’s time had come. His rebounding numbers fell dramatically, and his always abysmal offense reached new lows - the man is shooting 37% from the field as a low post player. Every advanced statistical measure save for the Wages of Wins revealed Wallace as one of the worst starters in the league. Even worse, Wallace and fellow old man Joe Smith kept rookies Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah on the bench. This might be acceptable on a playoff team, but for a team struggling to reach .500? Please. Wallace teamed up with fellow worthless player Adrian Griffin to suspend Joakim Noah for yelling at an assistant coach. One wonders where Wallace gained this power.

And now, less than 2 seasons into his tenure with the Bulls, Wallace is gone. I thank him for absolutely nothing, and I wish him all the worst with his new team. Although it remains to be seen, it is possible that Wallace cost both Scott Skiles and John Paxson their positions with the Chicago Bulls. Maybe this will be a lesson to those who value “veteran presence” and “playoff experience” over simple measures such as production.