Skip navigation
Site powered by
Latest news:
msnbc.com: Top msnbc.com headlines: Violence widens ahead of Greek austerity vote

Bulls hope an offended Wallace will deliver

Veteran defensive force set for rebound in Chicago

Image: Ben WallaceAP file
Over six years with the Pistons, Bulls center Ben Wallace averaged 12.9 rebounds and won four Defensive Player of the Year awards.

Sean Deveney
Ben Wallace looks mean, which is common for the game's best intimidator. He is holding a basketball in his palm and staring at it, stiff-lipped, as if it had just badmouthed his family's good name. A few whirs of a camera shutter and Wallace lets the ball down (it heaves a sigh of relief). Wallace's seriousness gives way to a smile, a look more fitting for a man who signed the biggest free-agent contract of the offseason, a four-year, $60 million deal that lured him out of Detroit. Meandering toward a group of reporters at the Bulls' practice facility outside Chicago, big, bad Ben becomes a 6-9, 240-pound cornrowed deliverer of one-liners.

His biggest obstacle to getting settled in Chicago? "Traffic," he says. "I've got to do better with traffic management."

His impression of fiery coach Scott Skiles? "He tried to fight a couple of my teammates last year," Wallace says. "But they're not my teammates anymore, so it's all good."

His thoughts on wearing a new uniform? "It's different," he says, "but I will say, I look good in red and black."

The Bulls hope Wallace does more than look good and crack wise. They want him to get mean and deliver Chicago from the depths of the post-Michael Jordan rebuilding era. The Bulls had been a cornerstone franchise for the league, but the ugly departure of Jordan and the horrible 66-230 record during the next four seasons sullied the organization. But what better way to evoke glory days and reattract forlorn NBA fans than to restore the Bulls, once the world's most popular team, to championship contention?

For that, Chicago needs Wallace ticked off and intimidating. Throughout the league, there is a class of nontraditional players that has been shunned by the NBA establishment but still has managed to succeed. It's the chip-on-the-shoulder class, and Wallace — undrafted out of Virginia Union in 1996 — is its MVP. He overachieved his way to stardom in Detroit and became a fan favorite and a dominating presence on defense. Over six years with the Pistons, Wallace averaged 12.9 rebounds and put four Defensive Player of the Year awards on his mantle.

But, recently, those around Wallace worried that he had changed. He has suffered difficult family deaths in the past few years, losing his mother in 2003 and his oldest brother to brain cancer a year later. Last season, Wallace seemed particularly out of sorts; he abruptly fired his longtime agent over a mundane clerical error, questioned first-year Pistons coach Flip Saunders and refused to re-enter a late-season game. His scoring average dropped from 9.7 points to 7.3 and his rebounding and blocked shot averages were the lowest of his Detroit tenure.


advertisement
More news
Image: Kobe Bryant
AP
Kobe's shot lifts Lakers

Kobe Bryant hit a baseline jump shot with 4.2 seconds left and the Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up a six-game road trip by holding on to beat the Raptors 94-92 on Sunday, their eighth victory in nine meetings with Toronto

  ProBasketballTalk tweets

  1. Loading the latest posts…

Source: Twitter. For more, follow @basketballtalk.

Video: NBA from NBC Sports
Knicks, Lin still streaking
Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni and point guard Jeremy Lin discuss the team and Lin's recent success.

Slideshow
Washington Wizards v Charlotte Bobcats
  Get your cheer on
Check out some of the dancers from the NBA.

more photos

  Ask the NBA expert: Ira Winderman

Do you have a burning NBA question? Submit it now, and then check back for our reader mailbag.

Special feature
Image: LeBron James
Who will be MVP?
Interactive: Rank each player on a scale of 0 to 10 (10 = best player, 0 = barely worthy of consideration).

NBCSports.com

Slideshow
Image: Blake Griffin
  NBA All-Star starters
A look at the starting lineups for the East and West teams.

more photos