Things were looking pretty good for Chicago Bulls fans last summer.
The Bulls were coming off a solid 2005-2006 season, and their young talent was beginning to shine. Then, Chicago landed the off-season’s most-prized free agent – Ben Wallace – the force in the middle that the Bulls needed.
Envisioning a title run was not unreasonable. After all, the Bulls had great guard play with Kirk Heinrich and Ben Gordon. Duke product Luol Deng had a stellar season at small forward, averaging 14 points and 6.6 rebounds per game; and Chris Duhon, another Duke graduate, gave Chicago nice production off the bench.
All that was mising was a hardcore, glass-eating, shot-altering, elbow-tossing monster, who would patrol the paint like a grizzly bear guarding the basket, as if it were treasured bear cubs.
Enter Wallace, the undisputed meanest enforcer in the NBA. A three-time winner of the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, Wallace finished 2006-2007 in the top five in virtually every defensive category, including floor burns. Wallace would knock his own mother down, if it meant protecting the basket.
Yes, things were looking pretty good for Chicago.
A little over four months later, the Bulls are 4-9 and Ben Wallace is having one of his worst seasons. Why? Because his coach, Scott Skiles, doesn’t want him wearing a headband.
Oh, Skiles also doesn’t want Wallace to listen to music before games, and Skiles wants his $14 million per year center to have his ankles taped each game, even though Wallace says he can’t move as well when his ankles are taped.
So, because Scott Skiles wants to enforce his little rules, like a kindergarten teacher admonishing 5-year-olds for not sharing their toys, Ben Wallace is unhappy. And the Bulls are losing.
Now, I am the first to say that discipline in sports is important. Should players be on time to practice and games? Yes. Should they dress appropriately when traveling and talk to the media? Of course.
When it comes to damaging player-coach relationships because you won’t let your best player listen to music, though, a line must be drawn.
In six tremendous seasons with Detroit, Wallace never seemed to have any trouble with coaches. All Wallace did was average 13.3 rebounds, 1.6 steals, 2.8 blocks and 1.6 assists per game. He probably altered another 6 or 7 shots per night, making opposing coaches rethink their game plans on every timeout.
The Chicago Bulls paid Ben Wallace $52 million to put them over the top. To help them get to the NBA playoffs and, ultimately, to win an NBA Title.
If Scott Skiles doesn’t like Wallace’s headbands, he shouldn’t look at them. If Skiles can’t stand the sound of Wallace’s music, Skiles should wear earplugs. If Wallace doesn’t want his ankles taped, Skiles should lock up the trainer, before he can ever get close to the Bulls star center.
When Ben Wallace breaks a real rule, then Skiles should deal with it. Until that time, he should sit back and enjoy watching one of the fiercest centers the NBA has ever seen do what he does best.
Then, things should begin to look pretty good in Chicago once again.
