Gerald Wallace’s Dirty Laundry

I have it on good account that Gerald Wallace has returned to Charlotte.  He brought home 3, that’s THREE, bags of dirty laundry for his wife to wash, or whoever his wife tells to wash things.  I hear, from my sources, annonomus because they’re made up, that the Wallace house uses Gain Island Fresh.  In an odd twist, Mrs. Wallace prefers dryer sheets to liquid fabric softener, when we all know dryer sheets are only good for eliminating static cling and basically just put a film on your clothes, far from softening any fabric.

What?  You thought by the title I’d be talking about Gerald Wallace, riding into Charlotte with his new team and as soon as he saw microphones immediately starts spouting about his breakup from the team like a high school sophomore on Facebook?  That’s the dirty laundry you thought I would discuss?  Come now dear reader, you know I’m way more into the Kenmore/LG and Tide version far more than the whiny drama version.

Gerald Wallace was made available to the media, mostly Charlotte, after the Blazers practice at the Bobcats practice facility ahead of their 7pm game Friday.  He described the trade as being “stabbed in the back” and a “slap in the face.”  Emotions seemed to boil up in Wallace, facing a familiar press corps in a familiar setting after sleeping in his home, in a place where he’s no longer working.  He’s left his wife and kids here in Charlotte, so he wouldn’t have to jerk the kids out of school and uproot everybody in the middle of their school year and whatever else they had going on.

My dad, who isn’t a basketball fan, was baffled with the whole trade thing.  The day the rumors came in on the trade with Portland which were squelched, Pops and I were out on a job working together, we also had to share a hotel room because it was a 2 day extravaganza.  I was checking my phone every time I got off the ladder and he said “I just don’t get it.  I mean I understand the concept of sending this guy out to get another back or whatever it is but how can you tell your best player and the one guy that I know ‘We don’t want you anymore.’ ?  How can you tell a guy in the middle of the year ‘Ok, pack your shit you’re out of here’ and he’s got to leave and his family and everything?  It’s like pure slavery, I know they get paid well but the whole concept of shifting people like they don’t matter….”

It devolved from there.  I could explain it to where it made much sense and he had decided that basketball players were modern era slaves, just a commodity.  He’s right though.  It’s just that he’s focusing on the wrong thing.  As a fan, especially in this situation, you don’t see the big picture like that, because you are resigned to that as a reality already.  Every fan wants their team to be a dynasty.  Every fanbase wants to be the Yankees fanbase or the Steelers fanbase, in a way.  You can’t deny results in the “We’re better than you,” arguments that crop up everyday between rival teams’ fans.  You want for those long time All-Star level players to define your franchise and bring championships that define the franchise and the legacy of your fandom.

Basically, you want a Michael Jordan with 6 championships, a Derek Jeter with 5, Kobe Bryant with 5.  Gerald Wallace is none of those and he’s playing older and older every year and the Bobcats are certainly not challenging for a championship.  I guess, if you are told “We love you.  You’re a Bobcat for life.  We won’t trade you.  Those rumors about Portland are bogus.”  I guess if you hear all that, then you get home from practice and get a call or a text saying “Pack your bags” yeah, you can be pissed.

My problem is not with the emotion, it’s with the airing of the dirty laundry.  You don’t talk to every open microphone about your displeasure.  It’s unprofessional and honestly, sounds harsh, unbecoming of Gerald.  I am really pleased there is a player of his caliber that is pissed about leaving the Bobcats.  That’s awesome, it really is.  I love that there is a pro athlete that likes the city of Charlotte that much, I really do.  I don’t feel like I’m being defensive of the Bobcats or of the front office.  I know I’m not picking a side in this whole trade thing, even though I wrote recently that it was “Genius.” We all know the how’s, who’s and why’s here.  That it means this much to a guy is a product of the business.

Rod Higgins’s name was brought up and Gerald says “I don’t even want to comment on that guy.”  The argument at the end of the day before the deadline was “MJ and Crash are buddies, they were joking it up in practice.  MJ would never trade him.”  Coach Silas aparently told Gerald “You won’t be traded.”  Coach Silas was telling everyone “We’re not going to make any moves,”  hate to tell ya coach, but they pulled off 2!  (Makes you wonder/thankful that he’s so disassociated with personnel moves)  Those are the players in this drama, they are real people, don’t forget that but also realize, they’re all worth millions and all are a move away from losing the ability to make more beyond their current contracts.  As everyone finishes their “Aww shucks, I’m trying to be cool about this but I’m pissed” statements are with the simple phrase “It’s a business.”

Matt Moore has a great article on this whole thing from last night on CBSSports.com, his conclusion:  “Trades are just weird.”  It’s a weird concept that no one in the “real world” can understand.  Best Buy doesn’t trade their best salesman to HH Gregg.  GE didn’t trade Jack Donaghy to Kabletown.  Kabletown just bought Jacks divis…it doesn’t matter, no one gets traded in real life.  If you do lose your job, you usually don’t have the money to keep 2 households going so you don’t have to take your kids out of school.  If your company wants to transfer you, as Moore says, they ask you first.  I understand where Gerald is coming from, but just the way he’s voicing his displeasure, it sucks.

If you want to look at the trade through an analogy, what’s better than a car?  Cars are great for most analogies, just in case you like to come up with your own, you can usually relate anything to a car.  Imagine you have this car, it gets you to where you want to go, it’s a great car.  MotorTrend put it on some list last year, top 10, it’s a great car, best you’ve ever had, certainly.  This car, it won’t last forever, it’s not like it’s a Rolls Royce.  You know it’ll take you far enough, just umm not all the way?  (Fallacy in this one analogy, I’m no Bill Simmons ok?)  The car won’t take you where you really want to go and it won’t get there quickly.  It’s even started giving you problems, in the past you crashed it and you aren’t sure about the electronics.  Here lately, you had to take the bus because the car broke down.  You aren’t rich and you need a car.  Somebody offers you no more payments for 2 years and the right to get whatever car you want in 2 years, plus you get to pick 2 brand new cars later.  You love the car you’ve got now, you’d love to keep it but big picture, you just can’t.  If you were rich and had the ability buy a Rolls Royce or Ferrari or even a couple Mustangs or Camaros plus keep what you’ve got…you’d do it, but right now you just can’t and long term, this is what works, what that offer you had to take.  You just don’t want that car’s alarm going off if you’re in the same parking lot or honking at you in the intersection.

Get it?  Players, while people, tremendous people in some cases, but they are a commodity you have to get the best value for the commodities you’re dealing.  It does pain me to say that, and it is a cold harsh reality.  It hurt me and I only write about the people involved.