At least kids can buy his kicks

Big Ben comes in at number nine on The Sporting News' all-overpaid team.

9. Ben Wallace, Bulls. I'm a little torn because I know the Bulls brought in Wallace to solidify themselves in the middle and help them take the next step. Wallace's defense on Shaquille O'Neal in the first round of the playoffs in some ways justified the big contract. I knew some of Wallace's contributions would be intangible, but his production was very subpar (6.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks) and Wallace rarely looked like the guy the Bulls thought they were getting. At $15.5 million -- that's about 28 percent of the Bulls' salary-cap space -- it's impossible to keep Wallace off this list.

It was pretty clear we overpaid for Wallace the day he was signed. While that doesn't necessarily make it a bad decision -- Pax didn't want to eat the cap space and they thought he could add some experience down low -- it will probably prove to be one in 18 months. At least we don't have Wally.