Rasheed Wallace comeback rumor, and my reaction
Look at that face. Doesn't he look like he's plotting something?
According to Stephen A. Smith, Rasheed Wallace plans to come out of retirement to rejoin the Celtics. Actually, according to Stephen A. Smith, I’m sure it was more like, RASHEED WALLACE PLANS TO COME OUT OF RETIREMENT TO REJOIN THE CELTICS!! (Sports Illustrated)
Smith said that the Celtics counter the Heat’s athleticism with “brute size” and Rasheed Wallace will come out of retirement to come back to the Celtics.
Smith said Wallace told him that’s the plan, because he wants another shot at the Lakers in the NBA Finals.
My first thought is to completely dismiss Smith’s latest bit of reporting. The Celtics already have three centers, and Perk (a.k.a. the fourth center) was cleared to practice this week. The Celtics do plan to counter the Heat’s athleticism with “brute size,” but they also (hopefully) plan to counter with “basketball players who still have pulses.” Sorry, but Rasheed Wallace doesn’t count as one of those. He’d also be the Celtics’ 16th player, when there are only 15 roster spots.
Likely, Sheed’s been sitting at his house, chilling. His gut’s probably the size of mine (which is no good, especially for a professional athlete), and I’m sure he’s just as likely to bomb ill-advised three-pointers as he was last year. We had enough of ‘Sheed after one season, right? Right???
But there’s a little part of me that’s saying, “It seemed improbable (impossible?) when Smith reported that Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were all going to end up in Miami, but (even though he somewhat backed off his original report) they did. Smith was right.”
Can he be right again? Just say no. Please.
A Sheed-Jermaine O’Neal combination would leave me in one of three places: A) in the hospital after a heart attack, B) in a grave after a very premature, heart attack-induced death, or C) in prison after a double homicide. That’s it. Those are the only three options.
Quite Frankly, I hope Stephen A. Smith is talking out of his ass. Retirement don’t lie?
Related posts:
Celtics Blog | Jay King | January 11, 2011
I’d be all for it if:
1. Sheed was in shape and did not need extra time to get in such
2. He passed a ‘team’ tryout whereby the players judge his readiness (head too)
Sheed hates the Lakers and that motivation may be the very thing (and wanting to play with the current crew with obviously liking their chances for a title) that would have him come in ready to play. You can’t tell me he’s forgotten how to play defense, rebound (needed) or shoot in 7 months. The whole equation of whether or not to bring him back is his health+shape+head and if he passes the player’s (KG/PP/RA/Shaq/JO/RR) test then that should be good enough for everyone else. Send SE to Maine for the spot needed. Go Cs… can you beat the Kings???
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Why not? I can’t see Baby Davis tearin it up while KG is gone, eighter. Can’t Sheed play power forward, anyways? If we could throw Perk, Shaq and JO on Bynum, we would have a little more athlethic KG and Sheed on Gasol. Baby couldn’t guard Gasol, he’s too small. Send one of the rookies down, and bring Sheed in? Can’t be that bad…
And Sheed deserves a little credit for what he did for us in the playoffs, just sayin.
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Well, your “all for it” argument went out the door after hypothetical number one. If Sheed’s in good shape, I’m a black woman who hates basketball and thinks “Celtic Pride” was a bad movie featuring a Wayans brother.
Also, he doesn’t need to forget how to shoot. If last year is any indication, he’s already forgotten that.
Thirdly, you can’t just send Erden to Maine. Someone would have to be outright cut for Wallace to be signed.
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cut J.O , yep i said it not sure sheed is in shape to be better, but last seasons playoff performances were 100X better than anything J.o has done the last three seasons, nevermind this year where he is hurting more than playing.
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trade JO and nate for a 9mil player and then sign sheed for the minimum with the opening..
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@Jay…face it, you just don’t want or like him. Who knows what kind of shape he is in? That’s why he should have to earn his way onto the team not just be given a contract. Maybe this was his plan all along? And he sure shot and played fine in the finals. Trade Nate for cash and use it to sign Sheed. Give Bradley NR’s time as NR sure isn’t showing he can deliver much. Go Cs…
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Why not? bring him back! erden NEEDS to have shoulder surgery and ‘sheed would fill in fine for him in a limited role of like 7-8 minutes a game. also if you’ve watche the last few games you see big baby getting owned by taller players and yeah that’ll be better when kg gets back but kg cant stop them fo 35-40 minutes a night and they take advantage of big baby. so sign himlet him play a limited role and then when we play the tim duncans and carlos boozers throw kg and sheed at them all game.
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So you want another player like JO that doesn’t care about winning (or running the floor)? You want a guy who constantly heaves up three point shots (disrupting or ignoring the offense) at a piss-poor percentage and who is therefore never close to the basket for an offensive board? You want a guy who whines about every call, pissing off the refs and giving the opponents free techs? A guy in short, who thinks he is more important than the team and doesn’t respect the game.
I’ve been a C fan my whole life despite growing up 30 miles from Philly, and I’ve watched virtually every televised game (even when they were horrible). Before that, I listened to every game on radio. In all that time, only two or three players continually hurt the team, by their playing style, lack of effort, attitude and selfishness. Sidney Wicks, Curtis Rowe and Rasheed Wallace are at the top of the list.
I$$$$$Rasheed is a despicable player, a terrible influence for the young players and he makes me want to jab needles in my eyes.$$$$
He’s long, he used to be athletic and he can still shoot a bit, but he either can’t or won’t hustle. He doesn’t play like a Celtic, he doesn’t play like a winner, and bringing him back would be a terrible mistake.
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Sheed wasn’t even in shape when he was playing. What makes you think he possibly could be now, six months after his retirement?
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@banner 18 and Jay… So his performance in last year’s finals was what? Worthless? You can never have too many bigs especially going up against the Lakers (which we all hope for). You think SE can handle Gasol or contribute? No, he will not even play. As a Celtic fan since 1960 I can honestly see why everyone hates on Sheed but when it mattered most last year in Game 7 he stepped up and delivered 11pts and 8 rebs. As Riley says “no rebounds, no rings” I have to believe that – if in shape and the team players agree – that Sheed could be a valuable asset to have come the playoffs. And Davis has shown he cannot guard taller players, or at least he hasn’t learned how to use his bulk yet to do so. Go Cs…
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Rasheed is a valuable player. Ball don’t lie. Rasheed shines in the playoffs. It would be great to see him help the Celtics take down the Lakers.
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