Please, Fire Chris Wallace

By: Stephen Patterson

Chris Wallace may have just taken an early head start in his race with Minnesota's David Kahn for the worst GM of the 2010-11 season. Wallace has decided not to extend a qualifying offer to Grizzlies free agent Ronnie Brewer, who the team only acquired last February. While Brewer only played in five games before missing the rest of the season due to injury, he would provide an instant replacement for Rudy Gay if he leaves the team, and at worst would be a solid contributor off the bench. Wallace has pulled ahead in this race in Usain Bolt-ian fashion, blowing past Kahn and trotting across the line.

While David Kahn searches desperately for a way to snatch up yet another small forward, Rudy Gay of the Memphis Grizzlies, Wallace seems to be trying to thin out the position for the Grizzlies. Even though Wallace says he will do anything to keep Gay in a Grizzlies uniform, I find it highly unlikely the team will match an almost certain maximum offer from New York, New Jersey, or Minnesota. If Rudy walks out of Memphis for nothing, meaning no sign-and-trade occurs and the offer sheet isn't matched, Wallace may be in desperate need of a small forward because of his decision not to extend an offer to Brewer.

Chris Wallace has a history of making poor decisions as a general manager. While it is unclear where he stood on this decision, Wallace made the call to select Hasheem Thabeet with the second overall pick over such players as Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry, and Brandon Jennings. This is not Wallace's first horrible decision in the NBA Draft. In the 2007, with the 4th overall selection and as his first draft with the Grizzlies, Wallace chose PG Mike Conley Jr. While Conley is a decent player, he has been nothing near worthy of the fourth pick in the draft, especially considering players like Jeff Green, Corey Brewer, Joakim Noah, Thaddeus Young, Aaron Brooks, Carl Landry, and Ramon Sessions were all still available on the board. I would gladly take any of the previously listed players over Mike Conley in a heartbeat. I wouldn't even need to consider the thought.


While with the Celtics, Chris Wallace made the brilliant decision to acquire Vin Baker, who was at the tale end of an already depressing career. He also was being ridicuously overpaid at the time Wallace acquired him. He also made the brilliant call to trade away Joe Johnson to acquire the duo of Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers. I can only imagine Boston fans must be thrilled with the fact they acquired these two All-Star caliber players. Oh wait, Wallace traded the future All-Star for two bench players that didn't really contribute anything meaningful to the Celtic's legacy. Boston could have potentially had a Big Four, of course only after Wallace departed did his successors build a championship team. Let it sink in for a moment: Boston could have had Johnson, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Rajon Rondo.

Also while with the Celtics, Wallace drafted such players as Jerome Moiso, Kris Clack, Ben Pepper, and Ron Mercer. Wallace also traded the team's first round pick in the 1999 Draft, a pick that could have yielded Corey Maggette, Jason Terry, Manu Ginobili, Ron Artest, or Shawn Marion. Wallace sent the pick, along with Andrew DeClercq to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Vitaly Potapenko. This man deserves a slow clap at this point. In 1997, his first draft with the team, Chris Wallace also dealt 3rd overall pick Chauncey Billups to the Raptors in a deal for Kenny Anderson, Popeye Jones, and Zan Tabak. Add in the fact that he chose Ron Mercer over All-Star Tracy McGrady, and it equals potentially the worst decision making in the NBA over the period (other than the obvious exception, Isiah Thomas).

Early on with his career in Memphis, Wallace dealt franchise power forward Pau Gasol to the Los Angeles Lakers in what many experts call the most lopsided deal in NBA history. While it brought the team Marc Gasol, who Wallace could have just drafted, the elder Gasol was sent to a team that has made three NBA Finals in a row and two straight championships. Both streaks are still alive with the Lakers having just won a 16th title, led by Kobe Bryant and former Grizzlies All-Star, Pau Gasol. Another painfully slow clap for our outstanding GM, Chris Wallace.

Also during his tenure with the team, he handed over the teams head coaching responsibilites to Marc Iavoroni. This was yet another poor decision on the part of Wallace, as Iavoroni would only post a record of 33-90 with the team. The Grizzlies have still not made the playoffs since Chris Wallace's arrival.

Last season, Wallace managed to pull off the worst free agent signing in the history of the Grizzlies franchise other than Brian Cardinal. In a move that originally gave Memphis fans false hope of success, Allen Iverson was signed by Wallace. Iverson played in a whopping total of three games during the regular season for the Grizzlies, none of which were at home. While Wallace brought in Iverson, thousands of  Memphis fans were yet again left out to dry. Many fans scoured to buy season tickets, but were once again rewarded with a slap in the face by Chris Wallace.

As long as Chris Wallace is running things for Memphis, Grizzlies fans can expect zero solid free agent signings. Also, be prepared for plenty of disappointing drafts in the near future. While Wallace will probably stand and watch idly as Rudy Gay heads north this offseason, he will likely also watch Ronnie Brewer depart from the team because of his lack of action. Knowing the Grizzlies have approximately zero chances of landing a top free agent, Wallace may have just killed another perfectly promising season.