Photo. Courtesy Steve & Barry’s

Despite a sprained ankle, Ben Wallace is expected to be on the court when Chicago opens its season in New Jersey tonight. A couple days ago I got up with the 4-time Defensive Player of the Year to talk about the Bulls, the Kobe rumors, the ongoing Pistons rivalry and his new signature sneakers:

Dime: The trade rumors involving the Bulls and Kobe Bryant keep popping up. What are your thoughts on that situation?
Ben Wallace: I mean, Kobe’s a great player and I’m sure a lot of people would enjoy playing with him. But he’s not here, he’s not in Chicago, so you can’t really think too much about it. We have a great group of young guys here. We’re gonna open the season with these guys and go win games.

Dime: You’ve made your mark playing on teams that were more balanced in terms of scoring, that didn’t have one guy taking 20-25 shots per game. How would playing with someone like Kobe affect your game personally?
BW: It wouldn’t affect my game. I’m gonna do what I do — rebound, defend. Can’t nobody score without the basketball, so for me the game doesn’t change.

Dime: Can trade rumors become a distraction for a team, especially for the guys whose names keep popping up in the rumors?
BW: It can. If you don’t stay focused on the task at hand, it is a distraction, but you have to do your job to the best of your ability. Being traded isn’t the end of the world; it’s not a bad thing. The worst thing is when you’re not able to be traded, when nobody wants you. That’s when you have a problem.

Dime: Ben Gordon and Luol Deng are two of the names we keep hearing connected to the Kobe rumors. What would Chicago lose if those two were traded?
BW: I mean, they’re the two best players on this team, at least two of the best players. They’re two guys that definitely made amazing contributions last year. I try to tell those guys that no matter what happens, the best thing they can do is go out and play their hardest and show what they mean to this team.

Dime: You’re the second NBA guy to sign an endorsement deal with Steve & Barry’s, and your Big Ben Wallace Collection is debuting this season. After Steph came out with the Starbury line last year, what’s been the feedback for the Big Ben Wallace line?
BW: Everything has been positive. A lot of guys tell me good things, and my teammates are definitely behind me. I think a lot of players, if given the opportunity, would do the same thing. The biggest compliment you can get as a player in this league is to have your peers telling you you’re doing great things.

Dime: You’re wearing the Big Ben kicks for opening day, right?
BW: Oh yeah. I’m wearing them for every game. For the first game I’m wearing the ones that are white on the front, black in the back. But we’ve got different colors.

Dime: What happened in your playoff series against Detroit last year?
BW: I think experience cost us in the series against the Pistons. Now that our guys have that experience, we can go out and get it done again.

Dime: Everyone says you guys need a low-post scorer, and while you drafted a big guy in Joakim Noah, he’s not that scorer. Then you brought in Joe Smith, but he’s not the go-to guy, either.
BW: People on the outside looking in always think they have all the answers. I thought we made a nice run with the guys we have. We’ve got what we want on this team. As long as you go out and play hard and know what your weaknesses and strengths are, if you get stops and give opportunities to your scorers, you can win even without that big post presence.

Dime: Who’s gonna have a breakout year for Chicago?
BW: Pretty much everyone had a breakout year last year — Luol Deng stepped his game up on both ends of the floor. Tyrus Thomas is gonna be big for us this year now that he can get a starting role at the four.

Dime: Looking around the East, who’s your main competition?
BW: There’s a couple teams in the East, but I look at it like, if we do our job night in and night out and play to the best of our ability, I like our chances.

Dime: Last year it was a big deal whenever Chicago played Detroit because of you. Do you think it’ll be the same this year with the playoff series storyline added in?
BW: Oh yeah. It’s always gonna be that way as long as I’m in Chicago and they’ve still got those guys in Detroit. It’s always gonna be a big deal.