On Ben Wallace: "I fully expect Ben Wallace to have a huge year for Chicago. I think he's going to want to prove (himself) all over again. That's Ben's nature. I don't see Ben sliding anytime soon."

On Ben's $60-million contract: "I knew it was going to be in that range. I had a feeling -- being in this business, you hear things -- I knew it was going to be at least $14 million (per year). So I knew it was going to be a crazy number out there."

On how close he came to matching the offer: "(Ben) made a good decision."

On whether the decision hurt: "Maybe if I wasn't so aware it could happen, I would have been blindsided or hurt. My eyes were wide open. I knew there was a good position someone could come in and throw huge numbers at Ben, and he would have to make a ... decision."

Copyright ? 2006 Detroit Free Press Inc.