Ben Wallace

For years, Wallace was a player who used his athleticism to serve not just as a competent, but an excellent, fantasy center. That was fine in his mid-20s. Unfortunately, Wallace will play the entirety of the 2010-11 season as a 36-year-old. Big Ben actually experienced a slight resurgence last year upon his return to Detroit, playing 28.6 minutes per game and producing respectable rebound, block, and steal numbers. Now a year older, though, and with seventh-overall pick Greg Monroe around, Wallace is probably bench-worthy at best.

The Pistons opted to bring back Wallace for another tour to shore up their frontcourt. Wallace can still offer solid production in rebounds, steals and blocks, even with his playing time expected to be limited, but don't expect the Big Ben of old.

Wallace is likely to start at power forward, but he plays center a great deal as well. Now that Varejao will be healthy, look for Wallace to be in the 18-minute range, making for career lows across the board on the defensive side. With Zydrunas Ilgauskas as the team's lone post-up threat and the decline of Wallace's defensive and rebounding skills, there's not a lot of upside here.

Wallace continued his fall from near-elite to roto role player last season. He remains one of the better rebounding/defense combinations in the league (10.6 boards, 2.0 blocks, 1.4 steals), but while those are good numbers they aren’t the dominant stats he put up five years ago (15.4 rpg, 3.2 bpg, 1.4 spg). He remains an absolute liability on offense (6.4 ppg) that shoots better from the field (45.3%) than from the line (atrocious 40.8%). Thankfully, he does not shoot enough from the line to kill a team’s free-throw percentage single-handedly the way that someone like Shaquille O’Neal might, but it’s still bad enough that you need to stock your team with plenty of excellent foul shooters if you’re going to draft him.

Wallace made all the headlines in July as the first big-name free agent to change teams. His offensive game has improved a little over the years, but Wallace is all about defense. Known as an excellent rebounder and shot blocker, Wallace has evolved into a tremendous steals threat from the center position as well. Alone, he will keep you alive in boards and blocks. The poor free-throw shooting can be a problem, but given Wallace’s lack of offensive opportunities, he doesn’t shoot nearly as many free throws as Shaquille O’Neal, for example, so the hit in that category is not nearly as damaging. The Bulls have promised to give him more looks, but most of the Chicago offense will be generated from outside.

Big Ben has averaged no less than 12.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game during his five seasons in Detroit. His scoring has ticked up to over nine points per game – right around average for a starting NBA center – in each of the last two seasons, so his value has diversified. He’s still an atrocious free-throw shooter (career: 41.9 percent), but luckily he doesn’t get to the line nearly as often as category killer Shaquille O’Neal. Wallace is also a tremendous source of steals from the center position, which is a rarity.

There's no denying that Ben Wallace is one of the cooler players in the NBA. The hair, the intimidation of anyone in the lane, the gritty way of going about his business, gobbling up boards and throwing back shots. And under Larry Brown, he's even shown some flashes on offense. But where Wallace brings huge value to the table is in three categories: rebounds, blocks and steals. And when you consider the scarcity of the latter two and the rarity of having a player who contributes so heavily in both, Wallace gives you a huge leg up. And while Wallace is a miserable free-throw shooter, unlike Shaq, he doesn't attempt nearly enough shots to automatically traumatize your FT percentage.

You should have Wallace on your fantasy team for two reasons - rebounds and blocks. He won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award for the second straight year on the basis of his 15.4 rebounds and 3.15 blocks per game. The rebounds led the league, and he finished second in blocks, as he nearly became the first person in NBA history to lead the league in both categories for two consecutive seasons. Wallace is probably a reserve in most head-to-head leagues.