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NBA free agency: Each team’s worst signing in franchise history

By Josh Cornelissen

Eddy Curry, New York Knicks, Ben Wallace, Chicago Bulls. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Eddy Curry, New York Knicks, Ben Wallace, Chicago Bulls. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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Ben Wallace, Chicago Bulls
Ben Wallace, Chicago Bulls. (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Worst free agent signing in Chicago Bulls history: Ben Wallace

4 years, $60 million

The 2004 Detroit Pistons are one of the most beloved title teams in modern NBA history, breaking through despite no true superstars and knocking off the “villainous” Los Angeles Lakers.

The Chicago Bulls undercut that “no superstars” idea when they offered center Ben Wallace a massive contract to change teams a year later.

Everyone on that Larry Brown coached Pistons team had a role. Wallace was the rim protector and all-around defensive wrecking ball. He was a force for Detroit in a way few players were before or have been since.

He averaged 2.3 blocks and 1.4 steals per game in Detroit, making four consecutive NBA All-Star teams and winning NBA Defensive Player of the Year four times leading into his free agency.

In free agency, the Bulls responded by handing the 32 year old a four-year deal worth $60 million, a significant number for that cap environment. Wallace immediately started to decline, his athleticism waning as he aged and relatively little skill there to ease the decline. Less than two years later, the Bulls shipped him out of town.

Detroit legend and head decision-maker Joe Dumars made a lot of errors in keeping that team in contention, but one they did not make was signing Wallace to a lucrative deal. One of the league’s best defensive players hit free agency at the perfect time for him, but the worst time for the Bulls.