DETROIT -- Bulls coach Scott Skiles and general manager John Paxson wasted no time launching their bring-Ben-Wallace to-Chicago campaign.
Agent Arn Tellem said Skiles and Paxson came to Detroit on Saturday to meet with Wallace, the Pistons' longtime center who is the brightest star on the free-agent market that opened Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Pistons are in a waiting mode. The Pistons want to see what kind of interest Wallace, an unrestricted free agent, gets around the league and hear what kind of contract Wallace wants.
Team president Joe Dumars said the two talked Saturday and that right now it's all up to Wallace.
It is believed the Pistons are prepared to make Wallace the highest-paid Piston by offering a four-year contract worth $11 million or $12 million a year. But as an unrestricted free agent, Wallace can sign with any team, if it has money to do so.
Tellem did not comment on the tone or the content of the meeting with Chicago, but reportedly the Bulls could offer up to $70 million for five seasons. That's likely too rich for Detroit's blood.
But one team general manager said Saturday that he doubted any team would offer a five-year deal, citing the 36-year-old rule. That rule mandates that when a player turns 36, his salary in that season counts against the salary cap evenly over the other years on his contract. Wallace will turn 32 in September, so a five-year deal would end when he is 36.
Tellem also did not confirm whether Wallace has meetings or visits planned with other teams.
Only Atlanta, Charlotte and Toronto, along with Chicago, have the cap space to sign Wallace outright. Besides Chicago, one general manager said he thinks Atlanta is the only other team that might make a run for Wallace.
"All I can say is that the process is just beginning," Tellem said. "We're trying to find out what his options are, and then we'll discuss them and make a decision."
Teams have until July 11 to negotiate with free agents, and on July 12, they can begin signing contracts. Tellem said he couldn't predict how long he expects the process to take, but it seems certain he and Wallace will explore their options.
After winning four NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards and helping lead the Pistons to the NBA Finals in 2004 and 2005, Wallace is the biggest star on the free-agent market.
There are a lot of reasons to like the Bulls. They have a young core, with Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich, Chris Duhon and Andres Nocioni.
They play a gritty, defense-first style of play, just the kind of ball Wallace cherishes. And Skiles is an up-and-coming coach who gets what he wants out of his players with a no-nonsense attitude. Some question whether Wallace and Skiles would clash, but they both seem to value playing hard and focusing on defense.
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(c) 2006, Detroit Free Press. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service.
