Ben Wallace vs Tyson Chandler Again.

On ESPN. com, John Hollinger apparently wrote about Chandler outplaying Wallace and suggesting Wallace needs to worry more about playing than wearing headbands (actually, I only saw the headline, as I refuse to subscribe to the mass media when bloggers do a better job for free).

Why are people so surprised?

On June 6, I wrote that Joe Dumars should trade Ben Wallace to the Kings for a package including Bonzi Wells, since it was clear that Joe D was not going to give Wallace the contract he demanded. This was not popular with Pistons' fans.

On July 4, I wrote about Wallace leaving the Pistons with nothing in return, leaving the Pistons over the salary cap and thin on the bench. Additionally, I questioned the media's response proclaiming the Bulls as front runners along with the Heat to win the championship this season.

While everyone believed signing Wallace solved the Bulls problems (which, btw, was interior scoring), I questioned concentional wisdom:

However, the Bulls entered the off-season with three needs: (1) interior offense; (2) veteran leadership; (3) length/size on the wing. So far, the Bulls have acquired three players (Wallace, Thomas and PJ Brown) which address only the leadership. Possibly Thabo Sefolosha or JR Smith could be the missing piece on the wing, but neither is a sure thing. And, neither Wallace, Thomas nor Brown is going to provide interior scoring.

Oops. The Bulls quickly jettisoned JR Smith, who could have been the answer on the perimeter for the Bulls, as evidenced by his play in Denver. But, maybe those two second round picks will come in handy for the Bulls. I understand Smith had a bad reputation after leaving the Hornets, but Greg Popovich attempted to acquire him at the trade deadline last year, which is good enough for me to at least keep the kid around for a while and see how he fits (or at least hold out until the Nuggets gave up a first round pick out of sheer desperation to find a SG; or deal to San Antonio for Brent Barry and his outside shooting and leadership, as was the proposed trade deadline deal).

Regardless, how did the acquisition of Wallace solidify any of the weaknesses? As I wrote:

The experts sound as if the Bulls were one shot blocker away from a championship. Defense was not their problem. And, Tyson Chandler was an effective defensive player, rebounder and shot blocker. Chandler's problem was his inability to score. Now, the Bulls have a shorter, yet stronger Chander who is 10 years older and even more expensive, and still have nobody to play the PF who is a legit interior presence on the offensive end.

Is it shocking (1) that the Bulls are struggling to score inside and thus consistently or (2) that Tyson Chandler is outperforming Ben Wallace? No and no. The Bulls did nothing to strengthen its weaknesses and have basically the same team as last season, where they overachieved to win as many games as they did. Chandler is just reaching his peak (he's what, 24) while Wallace is already well past his prime and playing on his last, fat contract. Furthermore, his greatest value potentially was the leadership he culd provide, but he has vacated that role in favor of sulking about unfair management practices and decided to divide the organization rather than lead within it.

And, now the Bulls are likely to look to make a trade, and maybe even deal their New York Knicks draft pick because they mortgaged their future to sign Ben Wallace and have to win now, as he is only going to get less productive. A team with such a future after the deal with the Knicks is now on the bubble because of a couple moves and signings. What if the Bulls had instead drafted Brandon Roy, kept Tyson Chandler and re-signed Darius Songalia (okay the injuries to Songalia and Roy would hurt right now). Roy would solve the length on the wing problem and create a great back court rotation with Gordon, Hinrich and Roy, allowing Gordon to be a full-time SG.They could have used their second pick on the 6'10 Cedric Simmons. They would have plenty of money left to re-sign Deng, Nocioni and Gordon, a valuable trading commodity in Duhon and a likely top 5 pick (Knicks) to use on Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Julian Wright, Brandon Wright, Tyler Hansborough, Kevin Durant, Yi Jianlin, Josh McRoberts or Greg Oden to play alongside Chandler.

Sure, they would be young. But, they would have several players reaching their peak at the same time (Hinrich, Deng, Gordon, Chandler) with some veteran leadership (Nocioni, Songalia) and young talent (Roy, Knicks pick).

A Hinrich, Roy, Deng, Noah and Chandler starting line-up would be versatile, fast and skilled, with Gordon adding punch off the bench and Nocioni and Songalia adding grit. Or, for more beef, draft Al Horford as the offensive post presence Chicago lacks. They would have had a lot of options.

And, they still do. They are still young, deep and talented. But, the looming presence of Ben Wallace changes things. He's making a lot of money. Money which may prevent the Bulls from re-signing Deng, Nocioni or Gordon. Money which could prompt a trade to take advantage of Wallace's deteriorating skills while he still has an impact. And, if the Bulls panic, Wallace's signing could be far more detrimental over the next decade (unless, of course, the trade results in a championship, though it is hard to imagine that happening).

Wallace still has time to turn around the season and help the Bulls advance to the play-offs and beyond. But, now that the hoopla surrounding the signing of a marquee free agent has faded, more people are seeing the move in a different light and realizing that giving up a 25 year old seven-footer who rebounds and blocks shots for a 34 year old 6'9 PF who rebounds and blocks shots and is even more expensive is probably not a great move and certainly not the move to elevate the fortunes of a team who needed interior scoring and perimeter length.