| 25 February 2011
When Gerald Wallace arrived in Charlotte back in 2004, he went from a rarely used forward with the Sacramento Kings to a versatile cornerstone of a Bobcats franchise building from the ground up. Not a bad way to start: An All-Star with the energy to block shots and fill it up on the other end. It never hurts adding a first team all-defensive NBA member in 2010 to a team already booming with a strong defensive mindset.
But where does Wallace fit in with the Blazers? And does the acquisition leave Portland too shorthanded on the frontline in the deep West? Eric King, Travis Margoni and Nick Poust of Beyond the Beat examine the Wallace trade and the man known simply as "Crash".
Eric King
The Portland Trail Blazers made out like bandits in yesterday’s trade by acquiring Gerald Wallace from the Charlotte Bobcats. While it always hurts to see Blazers players traded away, this was a deal the organization absolutely could not have walked away from.
Leading up to the trade deadline, the Blazers were faced with a couple difficult decisions in regards to the future of the team. Should they keep the crafty veterans and make a playoff push, or should they trade for youth and begin rebuilding? Trading Joel Przybilla opened up a third option and provided the one alternative that improved the team in both the short term and the long term.
Although Andre Miller and Marcus Camby were attractive trade pieces to other teams looking to become more competitive, the value the Blazers would have received in return would have been inferior. In fact, trading either of those players could have been perceived as waving the white flag for the season. Instead, trading Przybilla and Dante Cunningham was the much safer option, as his value has been rather minimal since his return from knee surgery. The Blazers basically took on minor risk for the potential of great reward.
Gerald “Crash” Wallace is a brilliant acquisition and he fits Nate’s system to a "T". The former All-Star plays solid defense, rebounds exceptionally well for a small forward, and is explosive around the rim. It will be interesting to see how the minutes become divided up between Wallace and Batum, but having two stellar small forwards on the same team isn’t a bad problem to have, and it also opens up potential future trades. Even if the Blazers had stayed put yesterday at the deadline, the team would have practically improved by default due to the Nuggets and Jazz trading away their respective superstars.
But adding Wallace was the pleasant cherry on top of one of the best NBA trade deadlines in recent memory.
Travis Margoni
There are a couple of quick reactions we're hearing regarding the Blazers' move to acquire Gerald Wallace: 1) How did GM Rich Cho get Wallace for so cheap? 2) How does Wallace fit in, and why didn't Portland go after a point guard or a center?
I fall into the former, and, for now, I don't care about the latter.
Wallace might be one of the most underappreciated players in the NBA, and he's been one of my five favorite players in the league in recent years. We don't always hear much about "Crash" Wallace, but last season he averaged 18 points, 8 boards, 2 assists, 1.5 steals, and a block for Charlotte. That's filling up a stat sheet. Nightly. And he did this shooting 48% from the floor and 37% from downtown. His numbers have slipped a bit this season, but he's still only 28 years old. He's fearless on both ends of the floor in ways we don't see very often. Defensively, just point to someone. Wallace can probably guard him. Better yet, Wallace is notorious for taking it directly to the Lakers, and under his leadership the Bobcats have defeated the Lakers in eight of the teams' last 10 meetings -- a somewhat mind-blowing statistic, but it was Andrew Bynum and the Lakers who nailed Wallace in early 2009 and collapsed his lung.
In the Bobcats' win over the Lakers on Feb. 14, Wallace led his team with 20 points, 11 boards, and no turnovers in 32 minutes. Wallace can play the 3 or the 4. He can come off the bench, or he can start. As far as I'm concerned, he can have Brandon Roy's minutes for the rest of this season. Rich Cho may have set himself up for some high trade deadline expectations with this one. Granted, Dante Cunningham and Joel Pryzbilla were fan favorites, hard-nosed guys who put every ounce of energy they had into whatever was asked of them. But you've got to give to get a player like Gerald Wallace.
Emotions aside, it didn't even cost much.
Nick Poust
It may have left the Portland Trail Blazers thin on the frontline, but their acquisition of Gerald Wallace from the Charlotte Bobcats was a terrific move.
Portland, already a playoff team, added a player who can fuel a deep postseason run. Portland didn’t necessarily need a wing player, but more depth is welcome when it comes in the form of Wallace. He is able to play both forward positions, has an aggressive knack to get to the basket, and can stretch the floor as a respectable three-point shooter. Adding to his versatility and offensive game, Wallace is a superior defender. And since defense is his strength, putting him alongside strong defenders like Nicolas Batum and Wesley Matthews can only help the Blazers.
Yet, head coach Nate McMillan will have his hands full distributing minutes. Batum, Matthews, and Rudy Fernandez have played excellently on the wings, and their minutes don’t deserve to be trimmed. That said, as their loss against the Los Angeles Lakers exemplified, Portland could use another veteran who has an aggressors mentality. What Wallace brings to the table is what Portland needs to finish games and seriously contend in the Western Conference. He just happens to play a popular position.
Losing Joel Przybilla and Dante Cunningham is tough, but Wallace brings more scoring than Cunningham did and will grab more rebounds than Przybilla did, taking some pressure of LaMarcus Aldridge in both respects. He can do it all and he will for Portland as General Manager Rich Cho pulled off a much need move for the Blazers at the trade deadline.
photo: hoopquity
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