With every acrobatic dunk, athletic steal and off-balance jumper he makes, Gerald Wallace's price goes up.

Wallace, an unknown benchwarmer three years ago in Sacramento, has become invaluable to the Bobcats, just in time to stuff his wallet.

Wallace, Charlotte's leading scorer at 18.2 points per game, has averaged nearly 29 points the past five games. Earning just more than $5.5 million this season, Wallace will almost certainly opt out of the final year of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

"If Wallace opts out, obviously you have to do something," Bobcats part-owner Michael Jordan said recently.