I went to the Nets-Wizards game last night and got a good look at Gerald Wallace in a Nets uniform. I have to say, I think we did the right thing by trading him. His subpar play in Portland was not due to our system--he looks the same in New Jersey. He's mostly a jump shooter now, and when he does go inside he gets his shot blocked a lot. His game definitely seems to be on the wane. Getting a high lotto pick for him seems like an even better deal now! Somebody to keep an eye on is Jordan Crawford of the Wizards. This kid is VERY GOOD. He looked better than John Wall last night.
Yeah, a lot of his game was predicated on his reckless abandon in going to the hoop.... thus the name "crash"... but those days seem to be behind him.
I am not sure he ever was as good as we thought. Maybe just another very good "role" player that Blazer fans saw highlights about. We often over value our players, but I think we over value others as well.
He "was" as good as we thought. When Wallace was in his mid 20's; he was insanely good! But many of you were right. His performance dwindled. The normal "dunks over defenders" became blocked lay-ups. It's kinda sad to see a player lose so much of his athleticism in a very few short years.
His body has taken a pounding. But he was definitely an All-Star caliber player when he was at his peak. All players have to adjust their game one they reach 30, and realize they can't play the same way like they were 25. Too bad he wasted so many good years in Charlotte.
I think Wallace was pretty much the #1 option before he came here- hence the gawdy stats. When he had to become the #2 or 3 option, we saw he had far less true skills than he was evaluated for.
I'll be amazed if what we got in return actually gets transformed into anything as valuable as Wallace. Aging or not.
Key word... It's hard to make the all-star team when your team is "shitty". The year he made the all-star team was when Charlotte was in the play-off hunt. Why do you think Zach never made it when he was posting 20/10 in Portland? It's because his team was one of the worst in the NBA.
