Is he back? Maybe. It seems Wallace wants to come out of retirement and play again, most likely with the LA Lakers. At 37, can he do it? Who knows?
Over his 15 year career in the NBA, Sheed played for Washington, Portland, Atlanta, Detroit, and finally Boston, before retiring after game 7 of the 2010 NBA finals with the Celtics.
There's no question that for a "big man", he possessed multiple talents. Besides being a tenacious defender all over the court, he could play in "the paint" with the other big guys, or step out and make long range jump shots. Also, unlike many other "big men", his free throw shooting was pretty good. And lord, could he trash talk.
Sometimes that got him in trouble, not so much with the opposing players, as with the refs. Wallace is the all-time leader, by a wide margin, for racking up technical fouls -- 324 in his career. That averages out to over 20 a season, and that's ALOT. Thing was, he was so good on the court that teams (and fans) overlooked that because he was worth it.
Many Pistons' fans in Detroit thought GM Joe Dumars was asking for big trouble when he traded for Wallace in February of 2004. Due in no small part to Wallace's presence on that team, a few months later the Pistons would win the world championship, defeating the heavily-favored LA Lakers 4 games to 1. Wallace may have been a lot of things, not all good, but it's probably a fair statement to say he is still thought of fondly amongst Detroit basketball fans to this day.
And now he wants to give it one more go-round. Reports say he's worked out like a maniac and is in better shape right now than he was when he initially retired. 37 might be getting up there in NBA years, but look at the Boston Celtics. Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce, their Big 3, tally over a century between them. Are they still championship caliber? Maybe not, given what's going on in a few other cities, but they can sure as hell walk into another team's building on any given night and win the game. So one never knows.
Of course, if Sheed were to hook up with the LA Lakers, there's always the Kobe factor. It's no big secret that the Lakers have been shopping center Pao Gasol. The good Mr. Bryant has recently decreed that the Lakers must do something quickly. Either trade Gasol, or make a commitment to keeping him. Funny thing is -- the last time I looked Kobe was a player, not the head coach, and certainly not the GM. Bryant can generate all the sound bytes and photo-ops he wants, and though an outstanding one, he's still just a player. Sometimes he acts like he owns the team, and I dare say a man named Jerry Buss might not quite see it the same way.
Personally, I hope Rasheed Wallace is indeed successful in his comeback attempt for a few reasons.
Despite all the former supposed "character" issues, he's proven himself to be a pretty good dude. That's worth something.
Second, whether he needs the money or not, knowing he worked so hard for another chance that, if successful, could turn out to be an inspirational type story that may pay dividends down the road not only to himself, but to others as well.
Though not a Laker fan myself, if he joins that team and still possesses some of his former talent, a power shift may occur in the western conference of the NBA. Even if he's not a starter, which is doubtful, his mere presence coming off the bench would create a lot of problems for other teams. That would be well worth the price of admission just to see how it played out.
But mostly, the things we won't see would be the best. Remember how Kobe and Shaq had their little feud a few years ago? All the little barbs here and there?
Imagine Kobe trying to do the same dis and smack talk routine with Sheed. He might be 37, but I'm pretty sure he can still bring THAT.
Priceless.
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