Chicago Hits Bulls Eye
The Chicago Bulls hit the bulls eye Thursday, signing four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace to a reported four-year contract worth 52 million dollars with a starting salary of nearly 14 million dollars, ESPN.com reported.
Wallace was expected to be officially introduced by the Bulls later Thursday evening at a news conference.
For the past six years, Wallace has been the cornerstone of the signature Detroit Pistons' defence. However, the rugged but undersized 6-foot-9 centre decided to leave on July 3, when the Bulls reportedly offered him a five-year deal worth 60 million dollars.
The Pistons' initially offer Wallace a four-year pact worth 49.6 million dollars, which would have made him the highest-paid player on the team. But the league's 2006 defensive player of the year was unhappy with it. When they raised the overall value to 51.8 million dollars, he was still disappointed.
"I thought the offer would have been a bit better," Wallace, 31, told the Detroit News after leaving. "There are no hard feelings and this was nothing personal. This is all just part of the business.
"This is just one of those things. When you get a chance to sign a deal of a lifetime, it's tough to let it go."
With Wallace manning the defensive end, the Pistons advanced to the NBA Finals twice, winning the championship in 2004. However, they fell to the eventual champions Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals last month.
"I appreciate everything Detroit did for me and my family," Wallace said. "They gave me an opportunity to make a name for myself and we had an opportunity to win a championship together. This is always going to be a special place."
With Wallace leaving to free-agency, the Pistons lose their defensive end and got nothing in return. However, they scrambled to replace him by signing free-agent centre Nazr Mohammed, formerly of the San Antonio Spurs.
Though Detroit comes away empty-handed, Central Division rivals Chicago clearly inked the top prize in this summer's free agent market.
By adding Wallace to anchor the interior defence and run alongside a core of young Bulls stars that includes Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, and Argentine Andres Nocioni, Chicago instantly moves from a middling club to a contender in the weak Eastern Conference.
The Bulls didn't stop there, though. They continued to add pieces to their puzzle by acquiring veteran forward PJ Brown and versatile swingman JR Smith from New Orleans in exchange for centre Tyson Chandler.
They also picked up forward Vicktor Khryppa from Portland and rookies Tyrus Thomas and Thabo Sefolosha in a draft day deal last month.
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