The "untradeable" Body

I loved to watch Ben Wallace once.

Yet, now, I don’t think Big Ben could find one fan even in the Chicago area…heck, even in the front office of the team who owes him $28.5 million over the next two seasons.

The notion that Ben Wallace is untradeable doesn’t come from the unwillingness to get rid of him on the Bulls’ part. Actually, the Bulls would love to dump Wallace and everything in his locker on the United Center's cold entrance before the next home game (making for some potentially nice memorabilia for fans).

Wallace's "untradeability" comes from chiefly two factors: 1) His super HUGE contract, and 2) His basketball skills are no longer magical.

Yes, Ben Wallace has long fallen past “ordinary;” his game is now “upchuckable.”

Chicago Tribune’s Sam Smith opined about Joakim Noah already taking over for Wallace, something the Bulls front office didn’t expect until next season at the earliest.

Yet, with all the negatives about The Body, would it be possible for the Bulls to get rid of this stray cat? Or would they end up screwing themselves even further in doing so?

Smith’s got a plan...involving who? Oh, everybody’s favorite prognostication plaything: the Lakers!

Wallace makes sense for the Lakers with Andrew Bynum's injury, and they can give the Bulls enough to make sense of a deal.

You take Kwame Brown's expiring contact of $9 million and add Vladimir Radmanovic at $5.6 million and it's a deal. The Bulls wouldn't want to take on Radmanovic's deal, which goes through 2010-11, but it's much cheaper than Wallace and may be the best way to get out from under his deal.

As Chicago native, I like this scenario because it rids Chicago of Ben Wallace. You could give me sardines for The Body. Vlad’s deal is quite long, but every team can use another white-Euro-big-man-shooter-when-healthy.

I'm sure this deal "makes no sense" for the Lakers who only need a big for eight weeks until Bynum's return. However, if they're really looking for a chip this season, The Body could be that experienced vet you're going to need.

But most likely not.

No compromises: Only Rose

A question in an email got me thinking about college basketball again. Yes, really thinking!

I sort of enjoyed it because it reminded me of how I knew every player in the 2005 Draft (of course, I didn't know EXACTLY how good they would all be, but that's another story for another day).

So the question was, "The Bulls have no choice but to make a blockbuster deal and start fresh, don't they?"

My answer...well, technically was, "Yes." But with a rather strong and rigid caveat. Check out my quick take on the issue:

Most people believe the Bulls need to trade for an established All-Star, I.e. Kobe, TMac, Gasol. But opinions are cheep especially when it comes to an "underachieving" Eastern Conference team.

Yes, it's true the Bulls need a superstar. But trading for a veteran ( I.e. Kobe) is as far from the answer as bread is from gasoline. The team tried this under different management a few years back with Jalen Rose, who managed to bring them from horrible to unbearable.

So here's what I would do if I had the Gulls' GM job -- follow what the Lakers did with Kobe in '96. That is, trade decent, immediate impact player(s) to a team who just drafted a future All-Star...a guard who's going to take the National Spotlight.

This man is Derrick Rose. No questions, no compromises.

The Bulls need to do everything in their power to get a #1 or #2 pick in this year's draft. Since they're already going to have a lottery choice (around 10), I suggest they package Ben Gordon and this pick for Derrick Rose. Plain and simple. It might be a high price to pay, but will certainly reap major benefits in the long run.

This I can assure you.

The Chi needs Derrick Rose to rally around, not Mayo, not Eric Gordon. Rose is the ONLY player who will work. The Bulls can not settle for less.

He's a player with name value, charisma -- someone likely to be a fixture for plenty of Nike ads. Rose can electrify the court and score in droves. Derrick Rose, born in the Chi, belongs in the Red and White.