Tag: Chris Wallace

Former Celtics GM Chris Wallace to join Houston Rockets as director of scouting

The former Boston exec will spearhead Houston’s scouting.

Former general manager of the Boston Celtics Chris Wallace is joining the Houston Rockets to become their new director of scouting, reports ESPN’s Tim McMahon. He’ll join former Celtics small forward Ed Pinckney there, with the Villanova product already on the Rockets staff as a scout.

The two missed each other’s tenures in Boston by a few seasons, with Pinckney a Celtic between 1989 and 1994, and Wallace in Boston from 1997 to 2003, when he was replaced by the Celtics’ last team president, Danny Ainge. Wallace was perhaps best known for drafting Paul Pierce in the 1998 NBA draft, and perhaps most infamous for having traded away Joe Johnson for a return centered around Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers.

The former Celtics executive will be part of a plan to invest in Houston’s front office under their general manager Raphael Stone as part of the Rockets’ rebuilding strategy.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Matt Bullard, Chris Wallace join Rockets’ basketball operations staff

Rafael Stone is making two high-profile additions to his basketball operations staff with the hires of Matt Bullard and Chris Wallace.

Houston Rockets general manager Rafael Stone is making two high-profile additions to his basketball operations staff with the hires of Matt Bullard and Chris Wallace to front-office roles. Neither will have an official title, per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, since Stone prefers to allow his staff to weigh in on all types of decisions.

Bullard is the third former NBA player in Houston’s front office, joining Ed Pinckney and Chuck Hayes. He played 11 NBA seasons, headlined by nine years with the Rockets and a spot on the 1993-94 championship team — which was the first to win a title in franchise history.

Since 2005, Bullard has worked as a game analyst for Houston’s local television broadcasts. His TV contract was not renewed after the 2020-21 season, but he quickly noted his ambition to join an NBA team in a management role, and this is the culmination of that goal.

As for Wallace, he began working in the NBA in 1986 as a scout and earned his first role as general manager with the Boston Celtics in 2000.

In 2007, he moved to Memphis as general manager and vice president of basketball operations, effectively replacing Jerry West. Wallace remained in that role until 2019, when he transitioned to an advisory role. Wallace was best known for building the defensive minded “grit and grind” era of the Grizzlies, which featured regular playoff appearances and big names such as Mike Conley, Marc Gasol, and Zach Randolph.

For Stone, who is still in his first calendar year as the lead executive in Houston (where he replaced Daryl Morey), the hires should alleviate any concern by fans regarding a lack of experience or pedigree.

“Houston made it a priority to add experience and expertise under Rafael Stone, investing in infrastructure as the franchise rebuilds,” writes ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. Bullard and Wallace could be consulted quickly, since the Rockets own three first-round picks in the July 29 draft and a have potentially busy start to free agency in the following week.

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Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders throws hat into (boxing) ring

Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, a boxing fan, watches videos of old fights during whatever down time he has these days.

It all comes back to boxing at some point.

Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders evidently is a fan of the sport. A story in the New York Times revealed that the Democratic hopeful likes to watch videos of old boxing matches in his down time, just like those who are likely to read this blog post.

Chris Wallace brought up Sanders’ interest in the sport during a one-on-one interview on Fox News Sunday.

“Who is your favorite fighter, sir?” Wallace asked.

“I would go with Muhammad Ali, who was not only a great fighter, one of the great heavyweight champs of all time, but was an extraordinary human being and probably the most beloved athlete of his time,” Sanders responded.

“Think he could’ve beaten Joe Louis?” Wallace asked.

“Yep, I do,” Sanders said.

“Incidentally, Joe Louis was from Michigan. You’re going to be in trouble on that one,” Wallace said, tongue in cheek.

Sanders, who is neck and neck with Joe Biden in the race to win the Democratic nomination, is currently campaigning for Tuesday’s Michigan primary.

“I know,” Sanders said. “… Chokwe Antar Lumumba, who is the mayor of Jackson, Mississippi [and who] is campaigning for me in Michigan, turns out his relations, his family is related directly to Joe Louis, whose real name was Joseph Barrows, the Barrows family here in Michigan.”

“It’s true,” Wallace said. “ You have some political repair work to do this afternoon.”

Louis’ real name was actually Joseph Louis Barrow, with no “s.” Still, we’re impressed with Sanders’ knowledge of the sweet science.