All is right in Wallace's world

G_M

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http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/13916635p-14754918c.html


The one-time promising Kings forward returns to Sacramento a new ballplayer

By Joe Davidson -- Bee Staff Writer

His skill level has now come within view of his athleticism. And what a sight. Gerald Wallace has arrived. Proof came Monday morning, when one of the NBA's emerging stat-sheet fillers practically had to be cornered and pulled off the Arco Arena floor after practice. He learned that he had become the first player in Charlotte Bobcats history to be named Eastern Conference Player of the Week. And the swingman they call "Crash," with little regard for life or limb in pursuit of the ball, had to be reminded by teammates to walk off the floor - please! - to not dive onto the bus that was headed back to the hotel. It's OK to tone it down a bit in high-tops even with a bit of great news. "He's our crash-test dummy, the guy who takes a licking, keeps on ticking, then gets into the next car and crashes again, like taking on the next opponent," Charlotte guard Brevin Knight said. "He's playing like an All-Star."

You remember Wallace, G.W., or as Kings teammates used to say, "Half man, half astounding." As dynamic and emphatic of an athlete to ever pull on Sacramento colors, Wallace wowed the consumer and teased his bosses with his above-the-rim play, the way he'd barrel into the seats, how he'd snatch a rebound and pound up the floor. But there were only glimpses. He tried to fit in at the wrong time. A 2001 Kings draftee, Wallace was a youngster stuck on a veteran-laden roster, when the Kings rolled out the deepest club in the league. He lasted just three seasons and 138 games of raw potential. With a struggling bench now, it can be argued that the Kings should have been more patient with the 6-foot-7 flyer, to find a way to keep him, to make him work out the kinks in his game. He was left unprotected for the expansion draft before last season because there were no other bodies to expose. Kings players and coaches were constantly on Wallace to expand his game to get on the same page on defense in practice and actual contests. Wallace said the lessons sunk. Still do.

The Bobcats snatched him up, desperate for players and hustle guys because they knew well that hustle and entertainment value help when you're an underdog every time out.

Wallace said the Kings "did me a favor" by exposing him to Charlotte.
Wallace has found his place in Charlotte. He found his minutes last season (nearly 31 a game) when he averaged 11.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. But his shot was still a mess. His dribbling caused coaches to wince and look away. This campaign? Much better, all across the board, with coach Bernie Bickerstaff offering this sage advice on how to elevate his game past that of just a dunker: Work even harder, son. Every single day.
Wallace understands now. He said he's matured in that part of his game the most, that work ethic makes the player, not hops and quicks.
His numbers back him up. Wallace leads the Bobcats in scoring with 18.5 points a game, never mind that the club runs no offensive sets for him. He scores on will and desire, putbacks, steals and alley-oops. He regularly receives standing ovations at home, a blue-collar guy in a blue-collar region. Three times this season, he has scored his team's first points off a steal and dunk. He is pulling in 7.4 rebounds a night, he is third in the NBA in field-goal percentage ( 57) and he leads the NBA in steals average with 2.56 a game. And most telling: The Bobcats are 4-4 with Wallace in the lineup and 1-5 without.

Teammate Kareem Rush calls Wallace the team MVP. Said Bickerstaff: "He's been terrific for us. As an athlete, he's off the charts. He's up there with anyone in the league. He's really starting to emerge. He knew he had to work on his game to get better and he has." In the three games since his return from a chipped bone in his right (shooting) wrist, Wallace garnered his NBA honor by averaging 22.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 3.3 blocked shots.

He looks like the same Wallace, but it's a totally different guy. Wallace played in just 37 games his final Sacramento season, averaging nine minutes, missing some games due to ailments and sitting others because he hadn't earned the minutes.

"Gerald's still young at 23, and he knows he can still improve as long as he works," Kings assistant Elston Turner said. "We challenged him here all the time. We'd work hard every day in practice for two hours, and some guys would still work on their shot. Sometimes he'd already be in the shower. He's bought into it. You know he's improved and worked because when he first got here, he couldn't take a shot without falling down."
The man whom Kings president Geoff Petrie deemed "a world-class athlete" on draft day 2001 is plying his trade far from here, talking about how he has found his comfort zone. He has a new house. He's no longer one-dimensional. He can get better.

Petrie laughed when he anticipated that there would be some second-guessing. It's part of the business. Players come and go. "He certainly looks like he's emerging as a quality player," Petrie said Monday. "He got into a situation where he got a lot of minutes. Our preference was to not have anyone exposed, but that was a decision we made. I'm happy for him." In Sacramento, Wallace said he was giddy, glad to be along for the shotgun ride deep into the Western Conference playoffs. He said the experience of watching and learning helped, even if it gnawed at him that he didn't get more minutes. "Sacramento was great for me," he said in his familiar baritone. "I was on a team with great players like Vlade Divac, Mike Bibby, Peja Stojakovic, Doug Christie, Bobby Jackson, and all I could really do was see what they did. It was hard to get into games with all those guys. I was only 18 and 19 years old. It wasn't the Kings' fault that they let me go. I needed to be somewhere where I could grow."
 
All I have to say is grrff.

It seems this is the season where all of our sins have decided to come back and bite us all at once. Sucks. (well except for my fantasy teams where I nabbed Wallce nearly every time ;) ).
 
as with every good game wallace plays and now articles about him....

damn you peeler..... wallace was one of my favorite players...
 
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So Wallace is the one who got away... sorry, but I'm not going to wring my hands over this because we simply do NOT have any proof that he would have flourished in the same way here.

Different players shine in different surroundings. Wallace found the perfect spot with just the right circumstances apparently in Charlotte. I'm glad for him but I'm not looking at him as the single savior that got away.

Yes, the whole Peeler thing might have been a mistake, UNLESS the idea was to expose Wallace all along.

People are seemingly pretty quick to forget that there were more than just a few rumblings about his lack of work ethic, his inability to learn what needed to be learned, etc.

He may be the one who got away, but I'm not so sure he was a trophy catch to begin with - at least as far as the Kings were concerned.
 
VF21 said:
People are seemingly pretty quick to forget that there were more than just a few rumblings about his lack of work ethic, his inability to learn what needed to be learned, etc.

If you read even today's article about Wallace, Turner takes a shot at his work ethic back THEN. Let's be honest, Wallace could JUMP. Granted, he could jump REALLY high but that about summed up the totality of his game when he was a King.

I think it was no win for the Kings. Unless you dumped Peja was a 19 year old with one year of college going to improve playing eight to ten minutes a game? Petrie obvioulsy thought highly enough of the guy to draft him. I think somethimes you need some bumbs abd bruises before things make sense, especially when you are that young. Luckily for Wallace it seems like he is starting to figure things out.
 
VF21 said:
So Wallace is the one who got away... sorry, but I'm not going to wring my hands over this because we simply do NOT have any proof that he would have flourished in the same way here.

Different players shine in different surroundings. Wallace found the perfect spot with just the right circumstances apparently in Charlotte. I'm glad for him but I'm not looking at him as the single savior that got away.

Yes, the whole Peeler thing might have been a mistake, UNLESS the idea was to expose Wallace all along.

People are seemingly pretty quick to forget that there were more than just a few rumblings about his lack of work ethic, his inability to learn what needed to be learned, etc.

He may be the one who got away, but I'm not so sure he was a trophy catch to begin with - at least as far as the Kings were concerned.

Considering he was only 21 when we gave up on him I think we were a bit premature. At that time we felt we were loaded and he wasn't going to play(mostly because Rick sticks with the Vets unless he is forced to play the young ones). Kind of funny but he is 1 1/2 years younger than Cisco and about 7 months older than K-Mart. I think I would take him over Martin but Cisco might turn into a good versatile player.
 
Gerald is basicvally ONE season removed from where he was with us. And it was a season that saw us move Doug Christie and open up a giant hole in the roster. And now this season we have no 6th man, and Peja is a FA.

I think there might be some rule in the NBA that at the point that a team composed of your ex-players could very well beat a team of your current players you might very well have made some mistakes along the way.

C - James
PF- Webb
SF- Wallace
OG- Mobley
PG- JWill
6th- Bobby
7th- Hedo
8th- Songaila
9th- Evans
10th- D. Jones
11th- J. Jackson
12th- Pollard
13th- Barnes
14th- Barry

Wallace is the epitome of everything we lack. And he's also the epitome of everything that you **** up when you lose -- young, cheap, huge upside. We aren't the first good team to have made that error. But we screwed up no less than the others that have preceded us.

Ryle said:
I think I would take him over Martin but Cisco might turn into a good versatile player.
Yeah, think I might just take the guy averaging 18pts 7.5rebs on 57% shooting and leading the league in steals over Kevin (6.2pts 2.2rebs 38%) too. ;) And MAYBE even Cisco (5.3pts 2.0rebs 36%) as well. ;)
 
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VF21 said:
... Different players shine in different surroundings. Wallace found the perfect spot with just the right circumstances apparently in Charlotte. I'm glad for him but I'm not looking at him as the single savior that got away...
But, are you really? :p My memory may be betraying me, but I seem to recall you being very much of the "don't let the door hit you..." sentiment.


VF21 said:
... People are seemingly pretty quick to forget that there were more than just a few rumblings about his lack of work ethic, his inability to learn what needed to be learned, etc...
Not in my case; I went on record then, and I'll repeat for the record now that I think that all of those reports were a bunch of hooey... Spin doctoring, for lack of a better term... A talented player was being held down by Adelman and his coaching staff, and they wanted to be able to put a nice face on it, so they "exaggerated" a few facts, particularly in the case of that Christmas Day game against the Mavericks, a story which I personally believe was injected with massive amounts of hyperbole.
 
Bricklayer said:
I think there might be some rule in the NBA that at the point that a team composed of your ex-players could very well beat a team of your current players you might very well have made some mistakes along the way.

C - James
PF- Webb
SF- Wallace
OG- Mobley
PG- JWill
6th- Bobby
7th- Hedo
8th- Songaila
9th- Evans
10th- D. Jones
11th- J. Jackson
12th- Pollard
13th- Barnes
14th- Barry
If that team played the 2005-06 Kings a hundred times, they would probably win 75-85 of them. And the only reason that it'd be that close is because Bibby is still the best point guard on either team, even though he's not better than a heathly Jackson by much...
 
Mr. S£im Citrus said:
But, are you really? :p My memory may be betraying me, but I seem to recall you being very much of the "don't let the door hit you..." sentiment.


Not in my case; I went on record then, and I'll repeat for the record now that I think that all of those reports were a bunch of hooey... Spin doctoring, for lack of a better term... A talented player was being held down by Adelman and his coaching staff, and they wanted to be able to put a nice face on it, so they "exaggerated" a few facts, particularly in the case of that Christmas Day game against the Mavericks, a story which I personally believe was injected with massive amounts of hyperbole.

Nope, your memory isn't failing you. I wasn't that impressed with Wallace back then...especially as a member of the Kings. Was I wrong? Yes, if you're considering him as part of the NBA universe. No, if you're just considering what he did on the Kings.

And I watched that Christmas Day game - three times, as a matter of fact - and I don't think things were exaggerated. But I guess we'll never know for sure. It's not totally out of the realm of possibility that the Kings "put a spin" on things to suit themselves. ;)

On the other hand, I think you are exaggerating with the "talented player being held down by Adelman and the coaching staff," too.

Yeah, they let him get away and he went to Charlotte where he's now apparently maturing into the player we certainly need and could use BUT that still begs the question:

Would he have matured into that player coming off the bench in limited minutes? I don't think so.

Would he be as productive coming off our bench as he is starting for Charlotte? Nope again.

Having the Kings let him go via expansion draft might have been the single best thing to happen to Gerald Wallace in his entire life. And, in all honesty, I don't think the Gerald Wallace that would have developed here would be even worth talking about.
 
VF21 said:
Would he have matured into that player coming off the bench in limited minutes? I don't think so.
Don't you think, given the current state of our bench, that it would have been worthwhile to find out?
 
That's the stuff NBA video games are made of.

We cannot recreate all the variables so it's just playing "what if" to try and figure out which variables would have led to him still being here, and with what other players...

Who knows if he'd even still be here. He might have been part of a package deal with Peja to get Kevin Garnett. ;)

We'll just never know... I will always believe that he just wasn't a good fit for what the team thought they wanted/needed back then and so they let him go. He, for whatever reaon(s), got the chance in Charlotte he most definitely didn't get in Sacramento. Good for him...
 
VF21 said:
Yeah, they let him get away and he went to Charlotte where he's now apparently maturing into the player we certainly need and could use BUT that still begs the question:

Would he have matured into that player coming off the bench in limited minutes? I don't think so.

Also, Charlotte after having seen Wallace play an entire year didn't throw mad money at the guy. Charlotte basically made a qualifying offer of around 2 million. Wallace eventually signed a three year deal a week before camp started but it looked like he might get away.

However, I don't recall a bidding war for his services.

I just think something kicked in with the guy during this off season. I'm glad it did I like watching him play. Plus, he sounds a little like Barry White so I love that!
 
im sure im reading too much into it, but i was a bit surprised he didnt reel of webber's name at the end of the article. really the only king of that era that he omitted. probably a moot point though.
 
KingKong said:
Kevin Martin will be greater than Wallace, imo. The boy just needs some damn confidence.

martin needs to gain about 30 lbs of muscle first.... and a better outside shot....

why is it that all of the laker bench players can hit threes? that is the weirdest thing to me.....
 
VF21 said:
So Wallace is the one who got away... sorry, but I'm not going to wring my hands over this because we simply do NOT have any proof that he would have flourished in the same way here.

Different players shine in different surroundings. Wallace found the perfect spot with just the right circumstances apparently in Charlotte. I'm glad for him but I'm not looking at him as the single savior that got away.

Yes, the whole Peeler thing might have been a mistake, UNLESS the idea was to expose Wallace all along.

People are seemingly pretty quick to forget that there were more than just a few rumblings about his lack of work ethic, his inability to learn what needed to be learned, etc.

He may be the one who got away, but I'm not so sure he was a trophy catch to begin with - at least as far as the Kings were concerned.

I agree completely. This is absolutely not the black-and-white issue that some are making it out to be.
 
I'm definitely not losing any sleep over Wallace "getting away". It's great to see him doing well somewhere else, but I seriously doubt any of that development would have happened here.

And I guess I need to watch more Bobcats games. Apparently he puts up pretty good numbers, but last night I saw the normal athletic plays and plenty of the good 'ol boneheaded ones I remember him making so often here. And the guy nearly killed himself a couple times goin after boards and leaping into the lane. Great hustle, but the he might want to be a little more careful about getting seriously hurt considering that without a jumpshot, he'd basically be useless sans his hops. :)

Anyways, good luck to Gerald. I don't miss him, but I'll always remember his great dunk against Houston in the pre-season.
 
Variant said:
And I guess I need to watch more Bobcats games. Apparently he puts up pretty good numbers, but last night I saw the normal athletic plays and plenty of the good 'ol boneheaded ones I remember him making so often here...
I'll let that slide, but only because you admit that you don't watch many Bobcats games... :p

I watch all the Bobcats games, and last night was very atypical of Wallace's performance. I fact, I'll go so far as to say that he was playing tight because he was nervous about playing in ARCO. This was his first time playing in Sacramento as a visitor, after all. I think that he was taking bad shots because he was trying too hard to show his old team that he has, in fact, learned to shoot.
 
I was at the game and I can only say that I can't recall seeing a player who gets off the ground faster than Wallace. It's really quite remarakable!!

As far as his basketball IQ goes not too sure about that. But, DAMN that guy can jump!!
 
I was at the game as well. What's so hard about shooting over Wallace is even if he jumps a little too soon his hang time is so damn long. He just sits there with you the whole time.
 
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