ORLANDO -- Pistons general manager Joe Dumars signed broken-down Ben Wallace this summer to be a figure-head, to serve as a low-budget example for his young, talented guys to see where hard work could take them.
Dumars never expected this kind of start.
Wallace, 35, is one of the biggest and most pleasant surprises of this young season. In the first five games, he has averaged 10 rebounds in 31 minutes while also playing the kind of hard-nosed interior defense that once helped him anchor Detroit's NBA championship team in 2004.
"I just thought he'd be great for the young guys to be around, an undrafted guy who worked his way up without any shortcuts. Just for the young guys to see him every day. That's why I got him,'' Dumars said Friday before the Pistons played in Orlando. "But he's been better than I ever imagined. It's like an added bonus.''
Who's Got Next is a weekly look at some of the top players widely available on the waiver wires.
It's pretty easy to get excited aboutBrandon Jennings' near triple-double in his NBA debut. He scored 17 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished nine dimes in 34 minutes against the 76ers on Friday night. He added two threes, but didn't manage to record a steal. With Luke Ridnour coming off the bench and playing just 16 minutes, it's pretty safe to say that for now Jennings is running the point in Milwaukee.
We could rehash the depressing nitty-gritty details, but why bother? It's a new season, and this year's squad looks very little like the one swept out of the playoffs in front of a turncoat Palace crowd.
Instead, let's focus on the changes, which should destroy your outdated notions of what Dee-troit Basket-ball is all about. First and foremost, the Pistons went from being one of the oldest teams in the league to one of the youngest -- and not just because four rookies will make the roster.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The arrivals of Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva in Detroit made headlines across the entire NBA this summer. The return of Ben Wallace, on the other hand, was barely a footnote.
In a way, it makes perfect sense. Overlooked and ignored at the start of his career -- Wallace spent four anonymous seasons bouncing around the league before emerging as one of the most dominant defenders of his generation in Detroit -- it's only fitting for him to be written off yet again as he nears the end.
But what first looked like a purely sentimental signing by the Pistons might prove to be so much more as Wallace makes his case for a starting job -- something that even Wallace admits has caught him by surprise.
"I had absolutely no expectations at all," Wallace told FanHouse after Sunday's win against the Hawks. "I didn't even come back here expecting to get a jersey. I'm just coming in here and working hard and whatever happens, happens."
We're at the point where casual fans fail to recognize the remaining names on the free-agency list. There are a few diamonds in the rough, though. Jamario Moon is one of the few remaining gems. Or at least shiny pebbles.
And the Cavs think he would look gold next to their two giant hunks of rock.
The trade of Shaquille O'Neal was just as intriguing from the Phoenix side as it was the Cleveland end, even though the Cavs got the best player (by far) in the exchange. While clearly a cap-cutting move for the Suns, the return package of Sasha Pavlovic and Ben Wallace provided a flexible cap situation in which Phoenix had the potential to offer a retiring Wallace to a cash-hurt team needing to unload a well-paid player.
That particular avenue was closed Monday, however, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports the Suns bought out Wallace's $14 million contract for $10 million. Coro reports Phoenix went forward with the buy-out in order to maintain a reasonable payroll after signing Channing Frye ($2 million) and Grant Hill ($3 million) last week. But in the process, a long-rumored Wallace-for-Tyson Chandler deal goes kaput.
There was a lot of activity in the NBA this week, and we're not just talking about the draft. Some of the NBA's big names and better teams were in on it.
Here's a quick look at the trades that went down and what they mean:
The Thinking: The Cavaliers get an aging O'Neal, with the hope that he can have a productive year playing alongside LeBron James. The only way this trade is a success is if the Cavaliers are the 2009-10 NBA champions. For the Suns, trading O'Neal means that they are beyond tinkering and are leaning toward turning over the personnel of a team that missed the playoffs last season.
You know what they say about the rumors: they're always true. And that's exactly the case with the talk of Shaquille O'Neal going to the Cavaliers to play alongside LeBron James. Yahoo! is reporting that it's a done deal, and that the Suns will receive Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, the 46th pick in Thursday's draft, and of course, some cash on the side.
Around this season's trade deadline, there was a lot of chatter surrounding Shaquille O'Neal. Everyone assumed that Shaq or his teammate Amare Stoudemire wouldn't be in a Suns uniform past the trade deadline. Of course the deadline passed and both Shaq and Amare remained on Planet Orange.
One of the teams reported to be involved in the pursuit of O'Neal was none other than the Cleveland Cavaliers. According to reports, the deal fell through because the Cavaliers wanted the Suns to take back Ben Wallace in return for Shaq, while the Suns wanted Wally Szczerbiak. The disagreements were purely financial, as Szczerbiak's deal expires at the end of this season, while Wallace has an additional year.
Hindsight is always 20/20, but did the Cavs make a mistake in not trading for Shaq?
After the Cleveland Cavaliers' season ended Saturday night in an onslaught of Orlando threes and Dwight Howard dunks, drop-step hooks, and again, dunks, the Cavs all responded in different ways. Mo Williams spoke to reporters, the only effective thing he did in the series. LeBron James walked off the floor without speaking to the Magic and left the arena without speaking to anyone. And Ben Wallace was talking about walking away permanently.
Wallace told ESPN that there was a "strong possibility this was (his) last season."
ORLANDO -- Pistons general manager Joe Dumars signed broken-down Ben Wallace this summer to be a figure-head, to serve as a low-budget example for his young, talented guys to see where hard work could take them.
Who's Got Next is a weekly look at some of the top players widely available on the waiver wires. 
FanHouse 
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The arrivals of 
We're at the point where casual fans fail to recognize the remaining names on the free-agency list. There are a few diamonds in the rough, though. 
The trade of 
There was a lot of activity in the NBA this week, and we're not just talking about the draft. Some of the NBA's big names and better teams were in on it.
Around this season's trade deadline, there was a lot of chatter surrounding 
After the Cleveland Cavaliers' season ended Saturday night in an onslaught of Orlando threes and 
