John Paxson speaks on the Ben Wallace trade
K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune wraps up the Bulls side of the deal that put and end to the short-lived Big Ben experience in Chitown. Many John Paxson quotes included, and there’s even a video in the link if watching GMs speak is your thing.
“This is not the ending of how I see things going,” Paxson said. “What we’ve done is cleared an opportunity for Joakim [Noah] and Tyrus [Thomas] to get experience. That is so important for us moving forward in making the right decisions.
“We also get in Drew a guy who is a starting power forward, who we have liked for a long time anyway and who can score and rebound. Larry has had some really good years and gives us more size and scoring. We’re crowded now in our backcourt, but that’s how the deal had to go.”
And so, the Bulls are in the rebuilding!
21 Responses to “John Paxson speaks on the Ben Wallace trade”
Feb.22 at 1:19 pm
SHINE43 says:
Bulls still make the the post season. we won’t miss Ben cause we got Joakim, but I think the we will miss Smith.
Feb.22 at 1:31 pm
Cub Buenning says:
KC was one of the other Media/players that was invited with me to the D-League camp. Great dude, great writer. His takes this summer going into the season are a far cry from now…. Poor Bulls’ fans.
Poor Russ.
Feb.22 at 1:40 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
No need to feel bad for me–at least they did something.
Feb.22 at 1:50 pm
WeS says:
I wish we coulda kept Joe Smith is all.
Feb.22 at 2:02 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
Joe Smith was playing very well for the Bulls–in fact, he’d probably been their best player–but where had it gotten them? Ten games under .500 at the All-Star break. Not good enough. If it took including Smith to get someone to bite on Ben Wallace’s contract, so be it. At least they didn’t have to throw in Thomas, Noah or Sefolosha.
Feb.22 at 2:17 pm
walt padubney says:
Bones for starting PG!
Feb.22 at 2:26 pm
tealish says:
How is this rebuilding? They got rid of Ben Wallace. Haven’t they improved in both the short term and the long run ?
Feb.22 at 3:17 pm
daniel says:
got rid of ben wallace contract, but now they have hughes…also, too many smallish guards still! larry hughes is 6′4ish i think right? hinrich gordon duhon sefolosha hughes. thabo has been playing well, but it seems he will get the least minutes. god hughes is a terrible shooter…
Feb.22 at 3:59 pm
chitown23 says:
Hughes is listed as 6′5″
He seems much longer than any of our guards tho, except Thabo, of course.
Feb.22 at 4:56 pm
Harlem_World says:
I like this trade for the Bulls. It’s not the best for Thabo’s development, but I expect more movement in the off-season. Noah and Thomas need space/time to develop so we can see what they can really become. I’m not sold on Thomas but I think Noah can be a quality starter given time. Gooden is a younger Joe Smith and when Deng gets back 100% this team figures to be much better and ‘Wallace-Free’ - which is a good look.
Feb.22 at 5:12 pm
Swellhead says:
They still have no post game, no obvious primary offensive weapon and a bunch of streak shooters. When they’re hot they’re great but when they’re cold, which if often this season, they run around in circles until the shot clock winds down and jack up crap. The names may have changed nothing else has.
Feb.22 at 5:18 pm
Old Skool Sloan says:
I agree with Russ’ take. One more thing: with the expiring contract of Gooden for 2009 and a contract expiring this summmer, the Bulls are in position to move pieces. That’s why the number one, most important thing is to see what we have in Thomas, Thabo and Noah before making decisions about who stays/goes this summer. And NO ONE is untouchable (yes, including Deng) IMO.
Feb.22 at 6:20 pm
Eazy Yi says:
Paxson didn’t finish the interview, he was asked the final question and replied with simply; “Yahhhh! trick Yahhhh!”
Feb.22 at 6:41 pm
Vigoss says:
it seems that Ben never really fit in. I don’t think Drew will either. Neither will Larry. They’ve taken a sledgehammer to break the mess, but they’ll need a wrecking ball. And change the construction crew foreman. New coach.
They got bad so fast, it was a little horrifying, and pitiful
Feb.22 at 7:08 pm
Sha 123 says:
I think they got a good guy in Drew who got some range on him . As for Larry . He will be on the bench dreaming of being back at cleveland . They can deal with his streaky play . Larry can drive into the paint but shooting is not his forte and now he is on a team that loves shooting off the pic and role. Good one Paxon . You are a legend
Feb.22 at 7:26 pm
Cam Jones says:
Harlem_world, don’t worry about Thabo getting playing time to develop. Knowing Hughes, he will be injured in about 2 weeks for the entire year so Thabo has a clear lane to get to be a big guard, well at least until Gordon gets hot
Feb.22 at 7:57 pm
AB_40 says:
the bulls are still in big need of a superstar. and neither hughes or gooden is that superstar. Ben Gordon is probably already packin his bags cuzz when the season ends he won’t don a bulls jersey no more. Him and Deng really dumb they got offered big bucks and they declined thinking they could get more. Somehow I see luol deng ending up in cleveland next to lebron but I don’t think that will happen outside of my nba live game:D
Feb.22 at 10:00 pm
slimy-bulls-statement says:
mwah ha ha, noah can have his wicked way, lets see how his stats improve after his minutes do, ben wallace has been shot out of a cannon out of dodge, lol
Feb.22 at 10:10 pm
Rob Paxon says:
The way I see this is the Bulls still have a lot of good to very good young talent. Moving Ben Wallace for NOTHING would have been worth it for them IMO. Not because Wallace is terrible but because a.) he just didn’t pan out (more the GM’s fault for paying him than his own) and b.) Thomas and Noah need to be bigger parts of the team. Gooden is a cheaper and more versatile piece to have in that up front rotation w/ the two youngsters. Losing Joe Smith sucks for them but it’s not the biggest deal in the world. The Bulls can now trade Gordon in the offseason, who should fetch a fair return. Sefolosha can hopefully be a solidified starter next season and Hughes may be productive off the bench on a team that probably bodes better for his game. If I’m a Bulls fan I come away feeling good from this trade and pretty confident that with a couple solid moves in the offseason this horrible season can be forgotten and the team can progress. Alas, I’m a Knicks fan. Ugh.
Feb.23 at 9:36 pm
kelly says:
I think it was a good idea and to trade, let the OLD vets go been their too long in my opinion,give the new guys and rookie’s a chance. I totally agree with Paxson letting the rookie’s get more experience,and more playing time as well, we should hopefully do better now! GO BULLS!!!
Jun.3 at 2:32 pm
AC says:
Won’t matter anyway with the trade scenarios comming up… Bulls will be back.