Wallace was interviewed by Michael Grange (no idea) the other night and Sheed was his usual, insightful self. I love this cat’s honesty. Both teams played hard.
Do you follow the economy?
Hell yeah.
What’s your scouting report?
Right now? We got to look out for them bad shooters. There’s a lot of bad investments right now. The market is still [messed]up. Oil and gas prices are up and down, depending where you live at.
It’ll get better though. We can’t stay in this recession for too long. Us, as in the United States, we did it for a few years in the 1920s, early 30s, but eventually we came out of it. We’ll come out of it.
Do you worry how it will affect the league?
Nah. I follow how that s___ affect me. F___ the league, excuse my French. I’m going to be out one day, but that’s not going to stop the economy from still plummeting. I follow it for me, for my family.
But if the economy suffers the league will too?
That’s going to happen. Guys who were able to get that big money contract the last couple of years, kudos for them. Myself and other free agents included, talking about signing for next season or the year after that, it’s going to hit us hard. Definitely we’re not going to get the money that… guys think they should get and deserve. But that’s all part of it.
You’ve got a good head on about it though?
You have to. I’m not the type of guy who rolls out here and spends mad money on this and that. I spend it on my kids or my wife or something like that but just save that cheese, that’s my whole thing.
If you put a suitcase in a locker room with $25-million [compared with the $56-million or so salary cap] would players take it or would they leave it and go get a job? What would they do?
They would probably rely on that suitcase. I guess it depends on the up-bringing. Myself, personally, I have no problem going out there and getting a 9-to-5. If I have to do that to support my family, that’s what I’m going to do: get my black ass up, and get that 9-to-5.
Sounds like you’ve been careful with your money?
Have to. That’s too much damn money to blow on nothing. You always got to make investments, and not always necessarily on cars, like most people think.
How many more years you going to play?
I don’t know. I guess until the wheels fall off the bus. Or until I’m not wanted on no teams, I guess. I’m still year-by-year.
Sounds like you’re prepared to sign for less than you’re making [Wallace in in the last year of a deal paying him $13.1-million this season?
You have to play that by ear man. I know for sure I can’t walk into a GM’s office and say I want $100-million. They’d look at me and laugh. There was a day though, before the recession.
A lot of guys are going to have to take less?
It’s going to change a whole way of living for some guys, having to take those pay cuts. It’ s a bad free-agent year for us.
Do players talk about it?
More the veterans. The younger guys don’t worry too much.
