Chris Wallace - One of the Worst GMs Ever

[LarryBrdismyDad]

After this trade today it is official: Chris Wallace is one of the worst GMs in the history of the NBA. This deal for the Grizzlies sucks. He got fleeced by Kupchak another mediocre GM. Wallace will definitely be a life-long attendee of the Bill Simmons Atrocious Gm Summit. He trades Gasol for cap space (that they won't use because nobody wants to go there), two draft picks which will suck, and Jarvis Crittenton a pg who is a rookie. They already have 2 young pgs that they drafted in the last 2 drafts, why would they need another one?

I know some people think this deal is good but it is awful. Some say well now Memphis has guaranteed a top 5 pick but what I say is weren't they in the runnign for a top 5 pick anyways? Right now they are sitting at 4th in the draft WITH GASOL. Imagine if they got lucky and got Beasley. If they had Beasley next to Gasol they would have had a very bright future. Also, does everybody remember last yr when we thought we had a great pick and went from 2 to 5? Memphis right now is 4th worst in the league. There is really not much room to move up and I still think they might be better then some of those lower teams after this trade such as Miami. Even if they finish 1 or 2 they are guaranteed nothing. If they kept Gasol they still would have an asset they could trade in the offseason and still have a great shot at the top pick. You also should always trade big for big. You never trade a 20 and 10 big guy in the prime of his career without getting another young big back with potential like Jefferson in the KG trade. Wallace also should have dealt for an expiring contract for next season which is more valuable because it can be traded for a star. I think expiring contracts are overrated unless you are in a friendly position to sign free a agent. Memphis isn't in a good position to sign a star. A star isn't going to sign with Memphis to play for lotto every year LOL. The type of guy Wallace will probably sign is a Darko which was a pretty bad deal last summer. Imagine if they didn't sign him? They would be at like 35 mil in committed salary for next season and they could do some damage in the future if their team played better. Wallace also did a poor job in that he didn't get terrible contracts off the books such as Brian Cardinal and Darko with a Gasol trade.

Lets see off the top of my head I can think of a few other teams I would have atleast approached in the offseason with these deals. Wallace was also a buffoon for dealing in the season because everybody knows thats when you get the worst value because you have no leverage (Vince Carter, Allen Iverson, Rasheed Wallace deals for example). Here are some ideas I have thought of that are better deals then what Wallace got. After looking aroudn the NBA I realize how hard it was to truly get good value because of the lack of young bigs but Wallace should have waited and could have done better. Anyways here are some trade ideas:

In the offseason
First Trade Idea: Memphis trades Gasol and Cardinal To Seattle for Wally, Jeff Green, and Nick Collison.

Why for Seattle: They get a 20 and 10 big guy to put next to Wilcox. They can also now move Durant to the 3. Jeff Green doesn't really have a place here with Durant/Wilcox in front of him.

Why for Memphis: They get Wally who has one yr left on his deal. They can shop him around for a whole summer and up until the trade deadline next season for a star. They get Jeff Green who can play the 4 in this league. Green has a post game and a face up game and has good athleticism. He is a good passing big man and he has some potential. Nick Collison is also a solid big man who works hard and puts up 9 pts and 9 rebs per game this season. Memphis also gets to dump Cardinal's two more years on the Sonics.

During the season if you have to make a deal
Second Trade Idea: Memphis trades Pau Gasol to GS for the expring contracts of Jasikevicius, Pietrius, Kosta Pervoic, and first round picks Brandan Wright and Marco Belinelli.

Why for Golden State: GS adds a 20 and 10 big man to their lineup to put next to Biedrins. GS now becomes a better rebunding team and they add interior scoring which they don't have right now.

Why for Memphis: Mem adds Brandan Wright who was a lottery pick in 2007 and is still a rookie. He is 6-10 and has a 7-5 wingpspan. If he can put on some weight in a few years he could be a Lamarcus Aldridge type of player. They also add Marco Belinelli who is a great shooter and provides depth at the 2 spot behind either your draft pick (Mayo, Gordon) or Mike Miller.

Chris Wallace's Tenure 2001 - 2003
I have to admit I am not surprised Chris Wallace panicked and made a bad deal. If you look at his body of work; it is almost as bad as Isiah. Wallace was a GM for only two years and single handedly sent our franchise back for 5 years. Chris Wallace is the same buffoon that traded for Vin Baker and his huge contract. Yes, that Vin Baker. He used Kenny Anderson's expiring contract which we should let expire and Vitaly Potapenko. This move set this franchise back for 3 to 4 years.

Chris Wallace is also the same guy who traded Joe Johnson and a first round pick for Rodney Rodgers and Tony Delk. Everybody who saw Johnson knew he would be good. We targeted him in the draft and O'Brien loved him on film. When he got to Bos he was rookie of the month in Nov. Then Obie got sick of him cause he was a rookie and made rookie mistakes and benched him. Wallace and Obie thought it would be a good idea if we traded Johnson for veterans so we could have a chance at getting swept by the Lakers and Kobe and Shaq in the finals.

Wallace was also an expert at drafting. He passed on Arenas, Tony Parker, Zach Randolph, Quentin Richardson, Troy Murphy, and Richard Jefferson to draft Kedrick Brown from JUCO. Four years later Brown was out of the league. He also made a fine pick at 21 taking Joe Forte.

This trade made today sounds like a Chris Wallace type of move. Selling an asset off for $.50 on the dollar and getting back nothing but **** draft picks, another young pg, and useless expiring contracts.

[MaxwellSmart]

Yes, I now hate Chris Wallace more than before....knucklehead.

[BrokenLeftyJumper]

I'm one of the few people defending this move by Chris Wallace. I don't think its a terrible move. I think it sets up the Grizz nicely for the offseason.

Second Trade Idea: Memphis trades Pau Gasol to GS for the expring contracts of Jasikevicius, Pietrius, Kosta Pervoic, and first round picks Brandan Wright and Marco Belinelli.

The only thing added the Grizz receive in this deal is Brandan Wright. I think you've come up with a pretty good deal, but I don't think its a slam dunk better than the one they did. Belinelli and Crittendon cancel each other out. The addition is really Wright. That would have been a nice piece, but I wonder where he would really fit in the Grizz's future considering he's pretty similar to Hakim Warrick. It really all depends on how high they are on Brandan Wright.

I don't think there is any way Seattle goes for that other deal you proposed. They knew what perpetual mediocrity was like before, that's why they dealt Ray Allen and didn't resign Rashard Lewis. Dealing for Gasol would just put them right back in that situation. Likely not good enough to make the playoffs, no cap space, and no likely good draft pick in the future.

[NickHexum]

I agree 100%!!! Isiah gets all the pub because of his profile, but, to me, Wallace is the absolute worst. This trade very much reminds me of the 1st 'Toine deal in that there was no need for Wallace to pull the trigger at this time. The Griz could easily have gotten more around draft time, etc., and also when you could guarantee the draft pick spot you'd be inheriting. Wallace and Ainge's philosophy about that 1st toine deal was they thought it was the best they were going to get, which clearly ended up not being the case when Dallas was later able to trade Toine to Atlanta for much better assets returned to Boston. Way to go Wallace!

However, if you believe in conspiracy theories, maybe this was done in order to set up a Celtics - Lakers Finals! Who would thought that would have been possible a year ago at this time

[celtsloyalty]

i seriously thought this deal was a joke

[Octolor]

I agree..I thought the trade was a joke too.

From what I hear Wallace is a nice guy, great person but kind of like the sucker you invite to a high stakes poker game.

Unless of course, Gasol is another Antoine Walker or Drew Bledsoe, a vastly overrated player.

I thought Memphis could have done a better and if Danny Ainge was making Wallace's draft pick selections it might have made sense.

All in all, this may be as bad as the Vin Baker trade when you consider he traded a commodity and received nothing of REAL value in return.

[francishsu]

Wow, Chris Wallace is really showing his versatility as a trader.

First he traded Billups for Kenny Anderson
Then he traded Joe Johnson and a 1st for Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers
Then he traded for Vin Baker
Now he trades Gasol for Crittenton and draft picks.

Opposite end of the spectrum, but just as bad.

What's the quote that comes to mind?
"Death I am, the destroyer of worlds..."

[GreenGrizz]

Agreed. He owes us Joe Johnson, Richard Jefferson and Tony Parker.

[Man_Up]

Rat Bastard.

All I can say is thank God he's not running any part of this team.

[MaxwellSmart]

TRUE story:
I'm in Vegas at this past Summer League(after Chris Wallace just joined Memphis-we had also just traded for Ray Allen but didn't have KG yet)....I'm in line at the snack booth and Chris Wallace is next to me....without saying hello or congratulations to him, I say "Now all you have to do is trade Pau Gasol to the Celtics"....and he says: "I want to keep my job"....and I just walked away(kinda disliked him from tho lousy/horrendous job he did in Boston).

Now he goes and screws the Celtics again....maybe I should have congratulated him....P.O.S.!

[canman1971]

TRUE story:
I'm in Vegas at this past Summer League(after Chris Wallace just joined Memphis-we had also just traded for Ray Allen but didn't have KG yet)....I'm in line at the snack booth and Chris Wallace is next to me....without saying hello or congratulations to him, I say "Now all you have to do is trade Pau Gasol to the Celtics"....and he says: "I want to keep my job"....and I just walked away(kinda disliked him from tho lousy/horrendous job he did in Boston).

Now he goes and screws the Celtics again....maybe I should have congratulated him....P.O.S.!

Not sure how he screwed the Cs with this deal. KG is ten times the player Gasol is. The Lakers, while I do feel made out like bandits in this deal, very well won't get out of the West. This deal has nothing to do with the Cs and has no impact on the Celtics success this season.

[MaxwellSmart]

this Gasol deal is probably setting up a Lamar Odom deal for a defensive stopper,maybe Artest.

[Jimmy103]

this Gasol deal is probably setting up a Lamar Odom deal for a defensive stopper,maybe Artest.

Lamar Odom has one foot out the door...it's either Jason Kidd or Ron Artest, only time will tell.

[Al n' Perk No Layups!]

-= original quote snipped =-



Lamar Odom has one foot out the door...it's either Jason Kidd or Ron Artest, only time will tell.

I don't see either of those trades happening. If the Nets trade Kidd they'll be trying to rebuild and Lamar doesn't help them do that. I also don't see why Sacto would want Odom, they look like they're going to try to rebuild, but if they want to contend, Odom is the inferior player.

[bill murray has game]

Wallace is pretty frickin bad

[ParticleMan]

I would love for the Lakers to get Artest. He's the equivalent of The Hitcher for a franchise. Has he gone anywhere where the franchise hasn't fallen to pieces in the short time he's been there?

[cfan79]

Chris Wallace is the worst GM ever. At least Isiah Thomas has drafted well.

Jerome Moiso, Kedrick Brown, Joseph Forte, etc

[chakdaddy]

I'm one of the few people defending this move by Chris Wallace. I don't think its a terrible move. I think it sets up the Grizz nicely for the offseason.

Second Trade Idea: Memphis trades Pau Gasol to GS for the expring contracts of Jasikevicius, Pietrius, Kosta Pervoic, and first round picks Brandan Wright and Marco Belinelli.

The only thing added the Grizz receive in this deal is Brandan Wright. I think you've come up with a pretty good deal, but I don't think its a slam dunk better than the one they did. .

You don't think it's a slam dunk that a deal where you get a lottery pick big man from last year, plus cap space, is better than a deal where you get cap space and a few negligible draft picks? You don't think getting Brandan Wright in return is better than getting nothing in return?

I actually see what you're thinking - you think Gasol is not that useful to the team, so trading him for nothing is fine. And you think Wright is not that useful to the team, so getting him is not much better than getting nothing! So seriously, in real life, do you use currency, or just barter?

[BrokenLeftyJumper]

You don't think getting Brandan Wright in return is better than getting nothing in return?

I really like how your spinning this one.

Brandan Wright = lottery pick big man

Javaris Crittendon (drafted a whopping 11 spots after Brandan Wright) and two late first rounders in the future = nothing

Great logic man.

[LarryBrdismyDad]

You don't think getting Brandan Wright in return is better than getting nothing in return?

I really like how your spinning this one.

Brandan Wright = lottery pick big man

Javaris Crittendon (drafted a whopping 11 spots after Brandan Wright) and two late first rounders in the future = nothing

Great logic man.

Well honestly Crittenton does nothing for them because they already have two point guards. Wallace has already said they plan on trading one of the three point guards in the offseason. With Wallace's track record for trading I am assuming that they won't get much back. Wallace would have been much better off getting Brandan Wright who could be a good big man.