ESPN reports
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ crushing defeat at the hands of the Orlando Magic Saturday may not have been their only loss. Ben Wallace, their enforcer and starting center for most of the season, said after the game that he may retire.”I’m going to sit down and talk with my family, weigh my options and come up with a decision,” the 34-year-old Wallace said after Cleveland’s 103-90 loss. “Nothing’s definite, but there’s a strong possibility that this was my last season.”
The article continues
“I haven’t talked to Ben at all about his future,” said general manager Danny Ferry, who was surprised to hear about Wallace’s comments.
Wallace, a veteran of 13 seasons, sighted his declining health as a major reason he may hang up his sneakers. He missed 25 games due to injury this season, sitting out with a right forearm laceration, a fractured right fibula, a bruised left knee and a strained left patella tendon.
“It’s tough being on the sidelines when you’re banged up,” he said. “Then you’ve got to put in all that work to get back in the rotation. It’s becoming a young man’s game.”
On a possible buyout
If Wallace chooses to retire, he will almost certainly seek a buyout since retiring outright would cost him next season’s salary. But he said money will not be the determining factor in his decision.
“I think I deserve [a buyout],” Wallace said. “But if I don’t get one and I’ve just got to give it up, that’s what I’ll do.”
Big Blow
Losing Ben Wallace would be a big blow for the Cavaliers. I thought he was the team’s best interior defender this season, and I think he’s been a pivotal figure in helping the Cavs get their defense back on track full time since joining Cleveland in February 2008.
Ben Wallace is still capable of giving the Cavs twenty good minutes a night, and he’s a very good role player in that role.
The one good angle here is Anderson Varejao, that the Cavs already have an excellent replacement from Wallace. Someone who can up his own minutes and eat a good chunk of Ben’s minutes + responsibilities.
Separate Issues
The cap implications according to Larry Coon
Any money paid to a player is included in team salary, even if the player has retired. For example, James Worthy retired in 1994, two years before his contract ended. He continued to receive his salary for the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons, so his salary was included in the Lakers’ team salary in those seasons. It is at the team’s discretion (or as the result of an agreement between the team and player) whether to continue to pay the player after he has retired.
There is one exception whereby a player can continue to receive his salary, but the salary is not included in the team’s team salary. This is when a player is forced to retire for medical reasons and a league-appointed physician confirms that he is medically unfit to continue playing.
So Big Ben will definitely be on the Cavs cap next season. Therefore, they’d receive no cap flexibility unless they agreed to a buyout.
I’m fuzzy on the trade implications here. I don’t know what the story is there so I’ll leave it alone until I find out more. They’re definitely not able to trade him if he agrees to a buyout.
One thing is for sure though, and that’s that Ben Wallace is the Cavs best trade asset outside of LeBron James due to his large expiring contract. Losing him as a trade asset would be a major blow to their chances of improving their squad for next season.
Posted on May 31, 2009 by Dave