Shame. Wallace was a really good player and an interesting character. I really liked him as both a Blazer and Piston, and I'm glad he was a key part of a championship team.
I don't buy the "He could have been a Tim Duncan/Kevin Garnett if he wanted to, but he didn't try." Those are two of the greatest big men in the history of the game, Wallace simply wasn't as talented as they were. It's like saying Roy could be Michael Jordan if he really wanted to, he just doesn't try hard enough. We have two variables that none of us know: a player's "true talent level" and a player's desire. Depending on how you want to portray a player, you can set those variables appropriately to make them seem like an overachiever, underachiever or just right.
Wallace was truly gifted defensively and showed it. His offensive talent level was not amazing. It was good...he had shooting ability, but not like Nowitzki. He had some inside game, but not like Duncan. He didn't do everything at a high level like Garnett. He had several good tools on offense, no great ones, and it added up to a dangerous but not all-time great offensive player. Combined with his defensive greatness, I'd say he's just under Hall of Fame caliber, and that's not a disappointment for his talent level.
I hope Wallace ends up as a sports media personality or coach at some point.
