Rasheed Wallace

Yesterday the Celtics sent an entourage of team members and front office staff to Detroit to meet with Mr. Wallace about getting him to wear the Celtics green this upcoming season. However they came back with nothing more than an offer being put on the table. So let me understand what happened here, the Boston Celtics, the second seed for the East last season and the 2007 NBA Champs came went to this guy’s house and he did not sign a contract? That in and of itself is disappointing. Granted Wallace has since said that he would like to wait a few weeks prior to signing a deal, but for my money that can not be a good sign. While I do not doubt that the Celtics will do everything they can to still acquire the big man, and will quite possibly get him, I thought that coming back empty handed left them hanging a bit. What happens if Rasheed signs elsewhere now? How unprofessional and disappointing will that be for this franchise? The only other time I can think of an ownership group meeting with a player and coming away empty handed was the Mark Teixeira negotiation when John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino went to Texas to meet with Teixeira and his agent Scott Boras. I will assume we all know how these negotiations ended.

As far as the pursuit of Rasheed himself I will have to admit that I am a little hesitant. Now let me explain, a big man who can play solid post defense and shot the three? I am on board 100%, but lets be serious if that were the just the case the Celtics would have sent a lot more money with them on their trip to Detroit. This guy comes with baggage. He has led the league in technical fouls for as long as I can remember and he has a tendency to just give up on some plays and even some teams he has played on. Will that happen here? You would hope not, especially with team leaders like Garnett and Pierce in the huddle. In addition to that Doc Rivers is widely regarded as one of the best player’s coaches in all of the NBA. Will the Randy Moss example of the bad boy coming in and going clean hold any truth when it comes to Rasheed Wallace? Hopefully, and if so this will be a great pick-up for the Celts.

Wallace has been a poster of consistency averaging 12 points and right around 7 boards a game in each of the last three seasons. Wallace has also shot 35% from three in each of the last four seasons. Those are some things to look for as we move forward.