Map Those Cruelties

So Wallace is going back to Charlotte, which in itself is a feat of special. That J-Rich trade not only brought a viable first option to the Cha—it also proved they were ready to put forth their dollars. It also appears to have some kind of snake-charming effect on G-Wallz, who tonight resigned with them for an astoundingly low $57 mill for six years. It's well-known that you, me and Hollinger think Wallace is among the league's most underrated, but this is ridiculous. This is a franchise that last year drafted someone to clog Wallace's position, and now they do him the honor of bringing him back. . . for dollars on the euro?

If you were paying attention, there were at least five or six other teams campaigning for GW's services. And I can't imagine that none of them would've thought to offer more. I mean, dudes, Rashard Lewis just got a super-max of a contract, and as Ziller details, he does not compare favorably to Wallace. Or maybe it was the travesty of Lewis's contract that caused Wallace to suffer. Like every GM in the league suddenly caught a case of "don't get fooled again," or vowed to make the players pay for Shard's taking advantage of a desperate franchise.



It is here I would like to suggest what's most FD about this bizarro deal, and why Wallace only continues to climb in my rankings. We all know Wallace is from a town that's like Mario Williams-small, and as such, prides slowness, comfort, and familiarity. This would be total crochet bullshit if it didn't also involve a player who seems hand-built to tempt the NBA open market. In his game, Wallace is everything we expect of a money-hungry, inconsistent, spazz. Yet despite all that, he's so country he's lazy. It's almost like he was cool with losing several cars and houses if he could keep his same parking space, not have to move, and not have to fuck around with changing his cell number.

I think I've brought up urban-rural/rural-urban on here before. Still not sure which is which, but Gerald Wallace has made a major stride in one or both of them. Actually, this might be the point where the two collapse into each other.

Another distinctly FD thing about the Wallace news: There's a very good chance he's getting less than Darko himself. The Leader's reporting that Darko's going to Memphis, of course to dislodge Gasol. The man who named this site is supposedly getting (rough quote) enough more than the MLE that it's worth shouting out loud. So there is indeed a maximal possibility that Darko, albatross our group can never shed and never cease to help, is making more than Gerald Wallace. If you followed, that means that we have helped imprison Multiplicity himself.



Incidentally, I'll be absent from posting duties until Friday or the weekend. But in the meantime, I've got it on good authority that you'll hear some voices filling the two days of gap.