Ben Wallace Turns Back the Clock

ORLANDO -- Pistons general manager Joe Dumars signed broken-down Ben Wallace this summer to be a figure-head, to serve as a low-budget example for his young, talented guys to see where hard work could take them.

Dumars never expected this kind of start.

Wallace, 35, is one of the biggest and most pleasant surprises of this young season. In the first five games, he has averaged 10 rebounds in 31 minutes while also playing the kind of hard-nosed interior defense that once helped him anchor Detroit's NBA championship team in 2004.

"I just thought he'd be great for the young guys to be around, an undrafted guy who worked his way up without any shortcuts. Just for the young guys to see him every day. That's why I got him,'' Dumars said Friday before the Pistons played in Orlando. "But he's been better than I ever imagined. It's like an added bonus.''

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Wallace, an undersized, overachieving center, is a four-time Defensive Player of the Year who also led the league once in blocked shots and twice in rebounding. Yet in recent years, his play dropped dramatically because of a variety of injuries. His frustration grew, and he said after last season ended with the Cleveland Cavaliers that he likely was retiring.

With one year left on his contract, the Cavs used him in a trade with Phoenix to get Shaquille O'Neal. Wallace negotiated a buy out from Phoenix, taking considerably less money.

"If I feel like this, I'll play forever. I think as the season goes on, if I stay healthy, my play is only going to get better."
- Ben Wallace "I was done. I had hung up my sneakers,'' Wallace said Friday morning. "I was about to file the papers to make it official. Physically and mentally, I just couldn't do it anymore.''

Wallace, now in his 14th NBA season, once made more than $12 million annually after signing as a free agent with the Chicago Bulls in 2006, which also was the start of his decline. He is now playing for the league's veteran minimum of $1.2 million, but he is playing with an energy he hasn't had since he left Detroit.

"I'm just healthy again. I haven't felt this good in years,'' he said. "I had no expectations when I came back here. But I also knew if I was healthy again, I was still capable of playing at a high level. I will tell you, basketball is no fun when you're not healthy. It's nothing but frustration.''

Wallace was expected to be a backup in the front court to younger guys like Charlie Villanueva, Kwame Brown and Chris Wilcox. Instead he has been their most consistent inside presence. In an earlier meeting against the Magic, he had 10 rebounds and helped send Dwight Howard to the bench with early foul trouble.

"The most frustrating thing for any athlete is when his body just won't let him do what he knows he still can do. That's what happened to me the last few years,'' he said. "But if I feel like this, I'll play forever. I think as the season goes on, if I stay healthy, my play is only going to get better."