Gerald Wallace Taking Lessened Role With Celtics As 'Slap In The Face'

I was ok with him calling out the team for lack of effort, but now he really, really, really needs to STFU, or start hanging out with Keith Bogans.  Now, it's all about him and it's sounding cancerous.



http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/231539/Gerald-Wallace-Taking-Lessened-Role-With-Celtics-As-Slap-In-The-Face


Gerald Wallace Taking Lessened Role With Celtics As 'Slap In The Face'
Jan 16, 2014 8:16 PM EST


Gerald Wallace is taking great offense to his lessened role with the Boston Celtics this season, which has included a bench role and averaging 22.1 minutes in 40 games.

“This season is a slap in the face, having to change my game and fine-tune it,” Wallace said. “First of all, it has to come mentally. You accept your situation, but there’s two sides to your brain. One side is fighting the other side because of the predicament you’re in. You feel you can still perform at the level you always have, but at the same time, you’re doubting yourself.

Wallace also feels his pride has been offended.

“You’re sitting, only playing 17 or 18 minutes a game,” Wallace said. “You’re watching, you know you can still play, and you watch guys in front of you who don’t play with effort, don’t respect the game and don’t think team first. It kind of frustrates you and (ticks) you off. You have to deal with it.”

Via Mark Murphy/Boston Herald



bob



.

I've had enough of his comments as well. Wouldn't this qualify as "conduct detrimental to the team?"

Just take your $30M and chill, Crash.


KJ

It's not going to happen but I wish they would send Wallace back home with Bogans. He needs to look in the mirror when calling out other players for lack of effort. If he played as hard as he complains he would be on the all star ballot again.

Seems as ones skills begin to waine...........various pros handle it in different ways. Some bow out graciously, others take a supporting role.........some think they are still stars and if not getting a chance become quite vocal about it.

Perhaps he could do better than some of the things we see our players do. He's right there on the bench watching. Regardless of his mouth I doubt it changes anything on this team. He'd be shiped out on the next slow boat to China if Ainge had the chance.

beat

It must be really hard to face the reality that one's skills have eroded to such a point that as a vet and one time all-star you can't crack the starting lineup on a bad team.

What happens is Stevens benches him totally? I guess he is just trying to tick them off enough to trade him. Guess what Gerald, no one wants you. Maybe that guy in Brooklyn is smarter than we give him credit for. Imagine iif he was still there? He would have been benched or sent to never, never land!

Sloopjohnb wrote:It must be really hard to face the reality that one's skills have eroded to such a point that as a vet and one time all-star you can't crack the starting lineup on a bad team.

This made me LOL.

But I think he's just mad that they aren't winning a lot, which is understandable but he has to look in the mirror at what he's done. He isn't doing much with the minutes he does have. From time to time he plays some good defense and makes hustle plays but it hasn't been consistent. He turns the ball over a lot and his scoring leaves much to be desired.


KJ

Maybe he's going through something like the Kubler-Ross stages of knowledge of one's impending death only it's the deatjh of his professional basketball career:
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance

Sloopjohnb wrote:Maybe he's going through something like the Kubler-Ross stages of knowledge of one's impending death only it's the deatjh of his professional basketball career:
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance

sloop,

Then the next step should be trying to negotiate a buyout. I could live with that, at this point.


bob


.

Har!!!

I'm not sure the situation is as cut-and-dried as it may seem.  Gerald is certainly not the perfect player.  Who is?  But, as I saw him do a Cowens-like dive on the floor for a loose ball the other day, I had to admire the energy he still puts into the game when he's out there.  It must be difficult to summon that energy on a consistent basis when it results in neither recognition of your efforts nor a winning record.

Yes, he's shooting his mouth off, and that doesn't make friends or fans.  But I believe he's also trying to preach energy by example.  And that's very difficult to do when you're cast in a secondary role.  Yet I don't recall seeing him take one play off this season.

It also must be frustrating for him to know that, if his talents are eroding over time (and frankly I don't see a lot of that), his most significant skill (tight defense predicated on energy output) is not one that commands as much attention as offense.  Ask yourself this question: Who on the current Celtics team is a better defensive player at his position right now than Gerald Wallace is at small forward?  Of course, you start with Bradley.  Who else?

If I'd been in the league for years, and if experience told me that the backbone of the really great teams is excellent defense; wouldn't it make intuitive sense that the (arguably) second-best defensive player on a struggling team would get more run than Gerald is? Of course, this isn't a situation where team that's in a contending dog fight.  The Celtics are in development mode—both development as a team and development of individual younger players.

And thereby lies the rub!

I believe Wallace's most telling comment was, "... ..you watch guys in front of you who don’t play with effort, don’t respect the game and don’t think team first."  I now ask that you ask yourself two questions:

1. Which current Celtics player is #1 on the list of players being counted on to develop to another level as a stud for the future?  (And I'm not discounting Rondo, but he could already be considered a stud for the future.  I'm still talking about someone for whom the jury is definitely undecided.)

2. Who is the only player "in front of" Gerald Wallace at small forward?

I believe the answer to both questions is the same: Jeff Green.

Now here's another question for you: "Which current Celtics player has submitted the most exasperating and inconsistent display of potential greatness so far this season?  Bingo: Jeff Green.

I could go on and on with leading questions, but I'm sure you catch my drift.  Jeff Green is almost mathematically the only (or at least the #1) teammate Wallace could have been talking about.  And how many people on this board (and elsewhere) have criticized Jeff again and again for not riveting his attention on how he can best help the team?  Is it a real stretch to imagine that Gerald Wallace, who's trying from a backup position to lead by example, has the same problems as we do with Jeff's inconsistency and apparent lapses in both attention and energy output?

So my final question for you is: Who has performed better and more consistently in the role to which he's been assigned to this season?  Gerald Wallace of Jeff Green?

Please make sure you don't respond to me that Jeff Green is a better or more athletic or more versatile or more skilled player than Gerald Wallace.  I'm savvy enough to know that.  What I'm talking about is centered on (1) Jeff's inconsistent attempts to capitalize on his potential and (1) the frustration it must cause his backup to give unheeded examples in virtually game of the one quality Jeff most needs in order to bundle his extraordinary skills and move to another level.

I'm not making excuses for Wallace outbursts.  I cut my teeth on a professional basketball team that just shut up and won; so nobody–absolutely nobody—can ever accuse me of condoning mouthing off by players.  But I am saying that I believe I understand what's going on in Gerald's head.  And I'm also asking the question (for bonus points) of whether the real news here lies in Gerald Wallace's statements or in Jeff Green's approach to the game.

Sam

All excellent points.  Wallace isn't a bad guy.  He's just ridiculously overpaid which magnifies his shortcomings in the eyes of many fans.

But that's not his fault.  What was he supposed to do?  Say, "Thanks but I'm not worth that kind of money"?

Sloopjohnb wrote:Maybe he's going through something like the Kubler-Ross stages of knowledge of one's impending death only it's the deatjh of his professional basketball career:
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance

Appears he's got a ways to go as he only on step 2.

beat

As Bob said, it would be nice if he's at stage three: bargaining.

No to offend anyone, but I happen to think it's not really appropriate for fans to evaluate any player (positively or negatively) even partly based on his earnings. Fans have no idea of all the behind-the-scenes factors that are involved in setting salaries. Some players just happen to be in the right situations at the right time. Fans aren't General Managers—not even amateur ones. Salaries make it possible for us to view games, and we should focus on the games and not the financial machinations.

I wish player salaries were never published.

Sam

I'm not so much in disagreement with Wallace's justification in being upset, but he's speaking publicly. That isn't good for a team to have guys airing laundry to the media. It's counterproductive and he should confront who he means instead.



KJ

K.J. I totally agree. All we heard about when the trade was made was that "Celtic Pride" was going to be carried forward with this new team, one way or another. Every time Wallace starts,chirping to the media, I scratch my head. This is not something that is done here.

I wonder how he is going to react to Rondo coming back and taking a more vocal leadership role. Is he going to complain when Rondo tells him he is on the wrong side of the floor? To move! To do this,or that. It is going to happen, you have watched Rondo in action, he used to yell at Pierce and Garnett for whatever the reason. They took it, will Wallace.

He has been told to tone it down, and obviously, he is not listening.
He plays hard, but he is not irreplaceable. The only two players "safe" as far as I can see are Rondo (?) and Sully.

Give a break, as a die hard Celtics fan, I am sick of your mouth.

Rosalie

Rosalie,

I agree with you about Rondo and Sully being the only two "safe" Celtics.

I actually think that lack of Celtics' energy has been occurring more on offense than defense (although both have suffered). Here's hoping that Rondo's return will signal a more energetic offensive response from a better balanced Boston team—maybe even a better defensive response as well.

Sam

The bottom line here to me is that Wallace is a shell of the player he once was AND he is not part of the long term solution here in Boston.

It may prove that Jeff Green isnt part of the solution long term either, but Wallace most certainly will not be here for the next great Celtics team.

So from the Coach's stand point - it makes more sense to play the players who actually have a chance to be here over the long run to see what he actually has to work with.

I dont disagree with Wallace's point about players not playing hard all the time - but if he had a bit less "ME" and a bit more "WE"- he could turn that energy into positively helping his teammates.

Now maybe this is a response to his efforts to motivate Jeff Green falling on deaf ears. But Wallace has to know that he is on the decline and he is already getting more minutes than he could have expected. There are in fact many times that I think Coach keeps Wallace in TOO LONG - when Green should be put back into the game.

This is the kind of sentiment that makes it hard for many great players to be great coaches. They simply cant get past the idea that many modern players DONT care as much and dont sacrifice as much as they did. This was always said to be the reason Larry Bird stepped back from the bench - as he would be exasperated by the inability for players to work as hard as he did.

But that’s not really what is important — what matters is the summer of ’15. That’s when the bulk of Celtics contracts will expire, with only about $19 million committed, plus draft picks and Bradley (though the Celtics could use what is known as the “stretch” provision to remove Gerald Wallace from the books).
Anyone know anything about the "Stretch Provision" and how can we sign up for it???????

Mrkleen,

My points were never about the relative abilities of either Wallace or Green or whether Wallace was justified in speaking out the way he has. As I hope I clearly stated, I was simply trying to get into the mind of Gerald Green. I've always felt that one could understand the reason for something without having to like it.

But, since you mentioned it, while everyone seems convinced that Wallace's skills have clearly deteriorated, I haven't seen that big a dip. His scoring average per minute is just about one-third of his career stat, but that's because he's taking only one-third as many shots in the Celtics scheme of things. His field goal percentage with the Celts is 53%, which is 6 percentage points ahead of his career average.

But scoring isn't expected to be the focal point of Wallace's value. I asked in a recent thread who, other than Avery Bradley, is currently a better defender on the Celtics team than Wallace. I received no responses (at least last time I checked). Right out of the box this season, there were all sorts of posts on this board about how he was a team leader. Of course, that was before his verbal blasts. But it seems to me that the level of his contributions has remained fairly consistent throughout the season. Last night, I think I called him a whirling dervish on defense, and he was my co-MVP for the Celtics along with Olynyk. And last night against the Lakers was Exhibit A that the Celtics desperately need all the defense they can get.

So, even if my main intent in posting on this thread was solely to try to fathom Wallace's thinking and NOT to justify his outbursts, I think I could make a case for the fact that he's (1) the most energized bunny on this team and (2) the level of his play has not necessarily deteriorated as much as many people believe.

Sam

Sam

From where I am sitting - Sully and Bass are equal if not better defenders than Wallace, with Pressey improving game by game. I think Wallace bring a higher level of intensity, but he gets beat just as often as anyone else....as he has lost much of his lateral quickness.

As for your assertion that Wallace hasnt lost much - we are in disagreement there, as even looking at his Per 36 - his career is in a virtual free fall over the last 3 seasons.

But lets assume for a moment, you are correct in that Wallace hasnt lost as much as some of us claim. The primary question remains - is he part of the long term solution here in Boston?

I dont think so...and so I think his minutes are better spent finding out if Green is really worth a long term investment.

Mrkleen,

Despite what I've said about Wallace, if there were a way for the Celtics to part with his contract, I'd be all for it. Not one syllable of what I have said suggests I think he's part of the long-term solution in Boston. But he's on this team; the likelihood is that he'll be here for a while unless they buy him out; and he's criticizing this team. I'm simply trying to suggest how his mind is working when he makes these unfortunate comments.

If you really want to disagree with me, how about reflecting on some of the things I've said about how his mind is working on this matter? That's been my primary interest in posting on this thread.

As for Sully and Bass being better defenders, we disagree. I can live with that. And, even if he were only the fourth best defender on the team, that would be pretty useful.

Sam