Upcoming Free Agents: Gerald Wallace

With all the big names ahead of him on free agent lists, Gerald Wallace may be widely unknown to the general NBA audience. The simple truth is that Wallace is a top-five free agent in this year's class and will be a steal for whatever team is smart enough to snag him first.

Story Before Free Agency - After being left unprotected in the expansion draft that saw Charlotte enter the league, Gerald Wallace quickly became the leader of the young franchise. He has had a terrific couple of seasons with the Bobcats despite having an inexperienced supporting cast.

Why A Free Agent? - Wallace has a player option to stay with the Bobcats for one more season. With the team looking to upgrade his position to a superstar type player, however, he should choose to explore the market and find himself a winning atmosphere.

Strengths

• Excellent hustle and attitude. He always puts his all into each and every game.
• Is only twenty-four years old. Has improved every season and the trend should only continue as he grows older.
• Great defensive player. Is only the third player in NBA history to average both 2+ blocks and steals in a season.

Accomplishments

• None to cite.

Expected Salary Offer - Unfortunately for Wallace, he is known as a player who cannot hit outside shots consistently, a negative for a shooting guard/small forward, and also as one who is injured way too often. For these reasons, it is reasonable to expect Wallace to get offers of no more than 6-7 million dollars a year. A 39 million dollar contract over six years, with the sixth year as a player option, should be a reasonable estimate of his market value.

Teams In The Mix

• Indiana Pacers - After the recent roster overhaul, it would be good for the Pacers to acquire a hard-nosed player like Wallace to compliment their soft outside shooters like Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy. Wallace would bring the team a cheap quick-fix at one of the wing-man positions.
• GoldenState Warriors - A player who runs recklessly down the floor at all times seems to fit Don Nelson's offensive schemes. The Warriors, like the Pacers and every other team on this list, have their mid-level exception and can afford to add Wallace if they want to.
• Sacramento Kings - Ron Artest has the small forward position for now but there has been talks of dealing him for being a disruption, again. If this is true, Gerald Wallace can provide the toughness without the misery to the Kings.

Wallace's Pick - For a player who exerts so much physical effort into each and every game despite being a victim to numerous injuries, it would appear that Gerald Wallace wants to win games. He should prefer a team that can win forty to fifty wins with a couple of additions.

Telling Quote - Coach Bernie Bickerstaff said of Wallace "Gerald can only play one way and be effective. Energy -- that's his game."

Final Prediction - Gerald Wallace signs a mid-level exception, which should be around the 36-39 million dollar range over six years, and goes to the Kings. Sacramento, ironically, is the team that gave him up in the expansion draft.