Ben Wallace back to Detroit? My thoughts

It's been widely speculated around the league that the Pistons have show interest in signing free agent Ben Wallace, bringing the former Piston star back to the city that once loved him unconditionally and is rivaled only by Steve Yzerman and Barry Sanders as Detroit sports heroes the last two decades.

I'm sort of on the fence about the possibility of Big Ben returning to the Pistons, but I'll give you some pros and cons, to present a case for either argument.

PROS:

• He'd come cheap. Wallace, whom the Suns just bought out of his last year of his 4 year, $60 million dollar contract, would sign for the veteran's minimum salary of $1.2 million. The Pistons have just enough remaining cap room to sign him
  
• Leadership. Big Ben didn't lead the 2002-2006 Pistons by emotional bravado. He lead by example. His hard work ethic and defensive tenacity could rub off on Detroit's young core of Stuckey, Gordon and Charlie Villanueva, none of whom are better than average defensively. His locker room presence could be huge for this team.
  

• Retire a Piston and hang his number in the rafters. Big Ben belongs here... he IS Detroit. Nobody in the last decade represents what Detroit is all about better than Ben Wallace. He's given so much to this franchise and city that him finishing his career here only makes sense. Of the starting five on the 2004 championship team, his number is the one that deserves the most to be hung in the Palace rafters forever.

CONS:

• Diminished body and athleticism. Ben never made it in the NBA on his skills. He made it through hard work, guts and determination. But along with that he had an incredibly fit and strong body and tremendous athleticism that helped him become one of the NBA's leading rebounders and shotblockers, despite him being well undersized. But that is all gone now. Big Ben is notacably thinner and a number of knee injuries the last couple years have robbed him of his freakish athleticism.
  
• Lasting image as a player. I don't want to see Ben Wallace fall flat on his face this year and my lasting memory of him as a scrub. I wanna remember the Ben that swatted shots into the 10th row. I wanna remember "Fear the Fro" ... the guy that intimidated all who dared to drive into the Palace paint. I wanna remember the guy that out-battled four guys to come away with the offensive board. I want to remember the guy that was the true MVP of the 2004 Pistons. We won't be getting that guy... at all.
  
• Last, and probably least, the state of Stuckey's jersey number. Certainly he will change his number if Big Ben is brought on board. And that will render my current Stuckey jersey worthless.

Conclusion:

My heart says yes, my gut says no. I'm going with my heart. It just makes perfect sense for Big Ben to finish his career where it really started. Sure, he won't play a major role... and he may even find himself in a business suit on some nights. But it's the chance to make ammends with the fans that adored him for 7 years. Maybe the return of Ben will spark some life back into The Palace? It just hasn't been the same since he left. Let's welcome the return of the colored afro wigs.

Ben, it's time to come home.