Suns Buyout Ben Wallace

Suns complete buyout of Wallace

by Paul Coro - Jul. 13, 2009 05:55 PM
The Arizona Republic .

Ben Wallace was gone before he was here.

The Suns completed a contract buyout Monday for Wallace, whom they acquired for such financial motivation in the Shaquille O'Neal trade in June. The Suns negotiated a $10 million buyout for a contract that would have paid him $14 million this season.

The Suns could save $8 million as a result of the buyout, because next season's payroll projects to exceed a $69.9 million luxury-tax threshold, kicking in a dollar-for-dollar penalty for the excess.
The O'Neal deal with Cleveland ultimately could be worth $18 million to the Suns in payroll and tax savings if the other acquired player, Sasha Pavlovic, is waived. He has only $1.5 million guaranteed in a $4.95 million salary but could be an attractive trade chip.

Wallace, 34, was expected to accept a buyout after saying this off-season that he was considering retirement. Last season, he suffered injuries and appeared far less athletic than in 2006, when he was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

The ability to buy out Wallace was tied into the Suns' free-agency pursuits of forward Grant Hill and big man Channing Frye. Hill will receive his two-year, $6.24 million contract today, also when Frye is introduced as the newest Suns player.

Frye, 26, accepted a two-year, $4.07 million deal with a second-year player option at $2.08 million. It is the equivalent of a biennial exception contract but will be taken out of the Suns' $5.85 million mid-level exception, leaving the Suns' biennial exception available this year or next summer.

With Hill and Frye aboard, the Suns will have a 13-man roster. Pavlovic's spot likely will be replaced by a minimum-salary player.

Frye is returning home and will play in an arena just 2 miles south of his high school alma mater, Phoenix St. Mary's. He is a 6-foot-11, 245-pounder who can play power forward or center, providing support alongside and possible insurance for Amaré Stoudemire, who is coming off eye surgery and has been mentioned in trade talks.

Frye's perimeter touch fits the Suns' system, which requires a big man to space the floor. He is not a strong defender or rebounder but gives good effort. He was an All-Rookie Team pick with New York in 2006, but his role diminished in Portland the past two years. Frye had surgery to remove bone spurs before last season, when he posted career lows in scoring (4.2 per game), rebounding (2.2), minutes (11.8) and shooting percentage (42.3).