Wallce to retire ?

[BrownIndian]

Cleveland Cavaliers' Ben Wallace makes surprise announcement he's contemplating retirement

 

Monday, June 01, 2009

Brian Windhorst

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

Ben Wallace is hurting - and mixed with the end-of-season blues, he's wondering if he's played his last NBA game.

 

The Cavaliers forward said Sunday he is considering retiring even though there's one season and $14 million left on his contract that he seems surprisingly willing to walk away from. He is planning to sit down and discuss the issue with his family in the coming weeks.

 

The emotion stems from an injury-plagued season. Wallace was sidelined by a gash on his arm, which happened when he put it through a car window playing football during the All-Star break, then suffered a broken leg, then developed tendinitis in his knee that required painful shock-wave therapy.

 

Being downtrodden about how the leg injuries slowed his athleticism, the most important part of the four-time Defensive Player of the Year's game, is understandable. But his insistence that he would be willing to walk away from the last year of his four-year, $60 million deal that he originally signed with the Chicago Bulls in 2006 is somewhat shocking.

 

Wallace is guaranteed the money and has every right to come back and accept the checks under terms of the deal. More likely if he couldn't play, the Cavs would look to perhaps get insurance to cover some of the salary and look to trade him. He'd be a valuable commodity because of the expiring contract and teams looking to dump salaries covet them.

 

Actually, Wallace is perhaps the team's biggest trade asset in the coming season. So not only would refusing to take the checks be revolutionary, it would completely change the team's salary situation.

 

There's even a chance that such an unexpected move - Cavs management had no idea this was coming from Wallace - could put them below the salary-cap line for this summer because guards Wally Szczerbiak's and Eric Snow's contracts (about $21 million) come off the books as well, and several players have just partially guaranteed contracts.

 

It doesn't seem possible, but Wallace sounded like he was feeling serious about it Sunday.

 

"I tried to tell everybody before I signed this deal that for me it wasn't about the money," Wallace said. "I was never into it for the money, and if it comes down to it to where I feel I can't be productive on the floor, I'm not going to come back and try to hold this team hostage because I have another year on this contract. That isn't me, I'm bigger than that."

[Kosar_For_President]

Cleveland Cavaliers' Ben Wallace makes surprise announcement he's contemplating retirement

 

Monday, June 01, 2009

Brian Windhorst

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

Ben Wallace is hurting - and mixed with the end-of-season blues, he's wondering if he's played his last NBA game.

 

The Cavaliers forward said Sunday he is considering retiring even though there's one season and $14 million left on his contract that he seems surprisingly willing to walk away from. He is planning to sit down and discuss the issue with his family in the coming weeks.

 

The emotion stems from an injury-plagued season. Wallace was sidelined by a gash on his arm, which happened when he put it through a car window playing football during the All-Star break, then suffered a broken leg, then developed tendinitis in his knee that required painful shock-wave therapy.

 

Being downtrodden about how the leg injuries slowed his athleticism, the most important part of the four-time Defensive Player of the Year's game, is understandable. But his insistence that he would be willing to walk away from the last year of his four-year, $60 million deal that he originally signed with the Chicago Bulls in 2006 is somewhat shocking.

 

Wallace is guaranteed the money and has every right to come back and accept the checks under terms of the deal. More likely if he couldn't play, the Cavs would look to perhaps get insurance to cover some of the salary and look to trade him. He'd be a valuable commodity because of the expiring contract and teams looking to dump salaries covet them.

 

Actually, Wallace is perhaps the team's biggest trade asset in the coming season. So not only would refusing to take the checks be revolutionary, it would completely change the team's salary situation.

 

There's even a chance that such an unexpected move - Cavs management had no idea this was coming from Wallace - could put them below the salary-cap line for this summer because guards Wally Szczerbiak's and Eric Snow's contracts (about $21 million) come off the books as well, and several players have just partially guaranteed contracts.

 

It doesn't seem possible, but Wallace sounded like he was feeling serious about it Sunday.

 

"I tried to tell everybody before I signed this deal that for me it wasn't about the money," Wallace said. "I was never into it for the money, and if it comes down to it to where I feel I can't be productive on the floor, I'm not going to come back and try to hold this team hostage because I have another year on this contract. That isn't me, I'm bigger than that."

 

You know I have a lot more respect for Wallace after this. Shows some real character either way. Good for him.

[Guest AdaM]

You know I have a lot more respect for Wallace after this. Shows some real character either way. Good for him.

 

 

Its too bad he's in bad shape. He shows flashes of his Detroit dominance once in a while but never consistently. Good luck ben.

[2yy4u]

Unfortuneatley the Ben Wallace experiment didn't lead to a championship, so far. Wallace has been plagued by injuries that have limited his ability to be the dominant DPOY that he once was and never has that fact been more evident than in the later games of the Orlando series when Dwight had him worn down and clueless on how to defend him. Granted, Varejo didn't stop Howard either(and interestlingly rumors has it that Andy will opt out), but I don't expect Andy to. I feel he is merely a role player and not a starter and unfortunately that wasn't the case for Cleveland. And let's not forget who let Rashard sneak right around Dwight to hit the series changer in game 3....yes, Big Slow Ben. I like the frow bro, and dig the rows, but it's time to go! Leave behind the guaranteed 14 million bucks and let Cleveland find a way to replace you w/a capable even perhaps a dominant(I really want Bosh somehow) big man. If only for the sake of the team so that LeBron will stay in Cleveland in 2010, for the city of Cleveland, for NE Ohio for christ's sake man, hang 'em up and let us bring in someone that can contribute to a Championship!