The Chicago Bulls front office spent the past few months looking to fill the void on their bench left when C Kurt Thomas signed with the Portland Trail Blazers this offseason. When the team so badly needed a shooting guard, VP of Basketball Operations John Paxson turned to former Detroit Pistons SG, Rip Hamilton. Might it be another core player from that 2004 Pistons championship team that provides the finishing touch on an NBA title in 2012?
Yahoo! Sports Adrian Wojinarowski is reporting that former Pistons PF/C is mulling a comeback to the NBA. With the available pool of free agent big men running thin on ability, several GMs told Wojinarowski 'Sheed's scoring and defending ability would probably be better than anyone currently available to them.
ESPNChicago.com's Nick Friedell tweeted "@WojYahooNBA reports Rasheed Wallace is thinking about a comeback If he does,Bulls will be interested. Thibs likes him&they need 1 more big."
Friedell continued: "Rasheed played with Rip in Detroit and Scal in Boston. He has a comfort level with Thibs. It makes sense to take a look IF he's in shape."
Question his age, attitude, and work ethic all you want. No one can dispute Wallace's toughness, his magnificent shooting touch, and ab innate ability to perform in the clutch when the lights shine brightest. The balding big man hit an immeasurable amount of clutch shots in 77 career playoff games with the Trail Blazers, Pistons, and Boston Celtics. Many Bulls fans can sheepishly recall a sneering 'Sheed showing off, draining off-handed threes with his left hand after the Pistons, up by 20, had already blown the doors off.
People don't realize that in his heyday 'Sheed was capable of a Dirk-like offensive impact, only tougher to handle insider! At six feet eleven inches, the four-time All-Star is a threat to score from anywhere on the floor. That's a weapon that comes around once in a generation. In the latter part of his career, Wallace, 37, made up in craftiness nearly all he lost in quickness due to age. When faced with a bigger stronger man in the post, the UNC Tar Heel alum would often "pull the chair" on the aggressor to neutralize the disadvantage. Great feel for the game on both ends.
If he's in shape and can manage to channel even a fraction of the player he once was, 'Sheed would elevate Chicago past the Miami Heat from contender to the NBA's odds on favorite.
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Comments: 6
The Bulls team now is all about being athletic and aggressive and fast. Sheed is only one of those these days. He's a savvy vet, but I'd still rather see someone like Kenyon Martin or Wilson Chandler with the Bulls.