Michael Pina has a BA in English with a concentration in Journalism from the University of Delaware. He is currently living in his hometown of Boston.
We’re officially in the thick of free agency and the NBA’s off-season as the signings and trades are about to get in the swing of things. There are three separate ways for a team to improve from year to year in today’s league: the draft, trades, and free agency with the latter most being the easiest and most effective route to travel.
Once draft night comes and goes, Team Owners, Presidents and General Managers begin to place all their focus on the crème de la crème free agents looking to change zip codes.
On the eve of the notorious 2010 free agent class, this year’s crop is littered with veterans like Allen Iverson, Andre Miller, Jason Kidd, Lamar Odom, Hedo Turkoglu and Shawn Marion who, if signed by the right team, have the ability to put that franchise over the top come next season’s playoffs.
However the most interesting player available isn’t listed above. He’s as volatile and controversial a person (when on the court) as basketball has ever seen and his game has managed to match his personality with its inability to be imitated. A mid-range jump shot first, baby hook in the lane second, near seven footer who Charles Barkley once said had all the skills in his repertoire needed to be the best player in the world, Rasheed Wallace is indeed the free agent in question.
At 34 years of age, the 12-year-veteran has played in more playoff games in his career than most which when combined with his seemingly unstable persona has turned him into one of the more overlooked players on the market.
Wallace’s career has more resembled a Six Flags Amusement Park than a single rollercoaster ride. First he skipped out on John Chaney and his hometown Temple Owls to play college ball at the University of North Carolina for Dean Smith. After being drafted one pick before Kevin Garnett in the 1995 Draft, Wallace went on to become the face of a Portland Trailblazers team that was aptly nicknamed the “Jailblazers”. He found success on the court there, nearly winning a championship at the turn of the decade and making his way onto the All-Star team twice, but his constant accumulation of technical fouls took precedent over the amazing things he did with the basketball.
From February 8, 2004 to February 20, 2004, Wallace put on three different jerseys and suited up in three different time zones. First it was Portland who traded him to the Atlanta Hawks where he played in just one game before being shipped off to Detroit.
When Sheed joined the Pistons at the trade deadline and proved to be the missing piece in the NBA finals puzzle his reputation started to change for the better. For the next four years Wallace remained a cornerstone on a team that went to the Eastern Conference Finals each season.
At this point in his career, the only cities rumored to be courting the talkative Wallace are ones that home contenders. Orlando, Cleveland, San Antonio, Boston and Los Angeles all would love to have the 6’ 10” Wallace and whichever one can sign him for the Mid-Level Exception could be hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy next season.
While some team out there is almost guaranteed to overpay for a player like Trevor Ariza who, based on a solid playoff performance, they think will serve as a crucial championship piece, whoever manages to land Sheed will be the smart pick for a 2009 championship.
