<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">In the real-estate industry, they're known as "comps," which is short for comparables. If you're thinking about selling your home or refinancing it, you find comparable homes in your neighborhood that recently sold. That gives you some sense of what your home is worth. Based on the comps, Gerald Wallace will leap into the high-rent district next summer. When Wallace signed a three-year contract worth about $15 million in September 2005, it was a fair deal. At the time, he represented potential more than accomplishment. The Bobcats were willing to guarantee all that money, and Wallace received the option to terminate the contract in the summer of 2007. That opt-out should make Wallace tens of millions of dollars, based on the comps. Look at what players of comparable size and ability received of late: Phoenix gave Boris Diaw $45 million over five years. Dallas gave Josh Howard $40 million over four years. A year ago, Tayshaun Prince got $47 million over five years from Detroit and Mike Dunleavy got $44 million over five years from Golden State. It sure looks as though Wallace is worth $9 million-$10 million a year in a long-term extension. Wallace is as valuable to the Bobcats as any of those four players are to their teams. Perhaps more so. Not one of those guys was the best player on his team when he signed: Diaw, behind Amare Stoudamire, Howard, behind Dirk Nowitzki, Prince, behind Ben Wallace. Dunleavy, behind Jason Richardson and Baron Davis. In fact, we're still waiting to see just what Dunleavy is at the NBA level. I know exactly what Gerald Wallace is -- a relentless help defender, one of the best athletes in the NBA, and the guy who plays harder than anybody else I've covered. That's saying something, because the standard in my 18 years around this league was ex-Charlotte Hornet Larry Johnson, pre-back injury. Essentially a 6-foot-5 power forward, L.J. would beat you senseless to grab a rebound. He inspired every teammate. Wallace has a different body than L.J., but the same effect on the Bobcats. When a guy is nicknamed "Crash," when the locker-room joke is to hang a "No Diving Zone" sign in Wallace's cubicle, you know he gives up his body every game. That sets a standard.</div> Source
