Off Season Review ( So Far)
What a wild off-season it has been for the Detroit Pistons. After losing to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, many people felt that the once certain status of Ben Wallace as a Piston maybe was somewhat dented. This was then followed by Ben agreeing to a contract with the Bulls. The reason for Ben leaving the city and team that turned him into a 4 time Defensive Player of the Year could have been a mixture of many different things. The first one is certainly money. Joe Dumars and the Pistons reportedly offered Ben a $48 million dollar contract for the span of 4 years. However, that money was far from the $60 million over 4 years that the Bulls were willing to give him.
Another reason for the departure could have been the sour relationship Ben had with Pistons head coach Flip Saunders. Ben never really liked the fact that Flip didn't preach hard-nosed defense the way Larry Brown had. Ben also didn't like the fact he wasn't involved all to much in the offense.
The final reason Ben may have left the Pistons all started back at the "Basketbrawl" in 2004. Ben Wallaces brother was reportedly involved in the fight in the stands and was banned from the Palace forever. This began what Ben felt like as a separation from his teammates. Whatever caused Ben to leave for sure, we may never know. All we know for certain is that he is gone.
After the departure of Ben Wallace the Pistons went out and signed former Spurs center Nazr Mohammed to replace him. Nazr certainly wont be close to Ben Wallace defensively, but he will provide more offense.
The Pistons then went out and signed Flip Murray. Flip is definitely going to provide some much needed offense of the bench. The Pistons also signed rookie guard Will Blaylock after an impressive showing during the Pistons summer league in Las Vegas. They also trade Maurice Evans to the Lakers for rookie Cheikh Samb.
Even though it may seem like it, the offseason is not over yet. The Pistons still could be moving Carlos Delfino. Plus, who ever knows what Joe Dumars has planned next!
