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NBA

Ben Wallace Mulling Retirement

Posted May 31, 2009 4:24AM By Matt Moore (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Cavaliers, Magic, NBA Rumors

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After the Cleveland Cavaliers' season ended Saturday night in an onslaught of Orlando threes and Dwight Howard dunks, drop-step hooks, and again, dunks, the Cavs all responded in different ways. Mo Williams spoke to reporters, the only effective thing he did in the series. LeBron James walked off the floor without speaking to the Magic and left the arena without speaking to anyone. And Ben Wallace was talking about walking away permanently.

Wallace told ESPN that there was a "strong possibility this was (his) last season."

Wallace is owed $14 million next season as part of the monster contract he signed with the Bulls in 2006. If he decides to retire, he'll most likely pursue a buyout. Wallace is likely to be a highly sought-after trade asset this year even if he elects not to retire due to his contract being an expiring one in the year before the Free Agency Summer of Doom, as some are calling it, with major free agents available at the same time.

Wallace has long been known as a defensive specialist, but now can only be used in short stints due to the fact that he's an offensive liability. More than once in a game you'll see defenses retract from Wallace if he gets the ball as if he were contagious with a severe virus. Games begged him to take shots, and often when he obliged them, their dare was not matched with a bucket.

But the Cavs still need interior defenders, especially against top-tier centers like, oh, say, Dwight Howard. Losing Wallace would punish the Cavs' defensive depth further. They would need to turn the money invested in him into an improvement regardless of his decision.

Just weeks ago, a Cavs championship looked well within sight. Now no one knows how the team that won the most games in the league this season will look in a few months. How things can change when Magic happens.

Tags: ben+wallace, BenWallace, dwight+howard, DwightHoward, lebron+james, LebronJames, mo+williams, MoWilliams

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