Rasheed Wallace didn’t drop any controversial bombshells about Flip Saunders or his future in Detroit during his appearance at SNYX Sneaker Studio last night, but he also didn’t leave those fans who came out to see him empty handed. From Terry Foster of the Detroit News:
The millionaire stood in the rain for 10 minutes with rain snapping into his face, signing red-and-blue T-shirts for boys and girls who sang his name.
This wasn’t part of the bargain for Rasheed Wallace. The deal was for him to come to the Derrick Coleman-owned Synx Sneaker Studio, promote his new Rasheed Wallace Air Force 1 gym shoe, talk to a few youngsters and then be driven back home, where he would celebrate his son Nazir’s fifth-grade graduation.
The rain and autograph session in a weed-choked alley was not part of the bargain. It happened because kids waited in the rain to meet him and Wallace felt an obligation to make their drenching wait worthwhile. […]
“Sheed, can you sign this,” young kids begged.
“Hang on,” Wallace said. “I ain’t going anywhere.”
And he didn’t.
“Y’all know I grew up in a neighborhood just like this,” he said.
Earlier during the appearance, he participated in a Q&A session inside the store:
“You know people say I got an attitude problem,” Wallace told his audience, which drew laughter. “People think that I am the same way off the court that I am on the court. That’s not true. On the court, I am at work. When you are at work or at school, you don’t want people bothering you. You’re at work. You got a job to do.”
But he does not want people knowing much about good Sheed. I ran into a man the other day who told me about all the wonderful things Wallace does in the community. And his charity work comes with one small price.
Don’t tell anybody.
He wants the world to see him as big and bad, sometimes unapproachable and tough.
That’s why he tries to keep things like his impromptu autograph session in an inner-city alley under wraps. This is his human side. This is Rasheed Wallace feeling comfortable in an environment where he got his start.
“Is that it?” he said as the final autograph was signed.
For what it’s worth, I’ve heard the same thing Foster has from various people who’ve interacted with Wallace off the court. Some guys only show up for charity events with lots of cameras, other guys only do it when the cameras are turned off. I’m sure it drives Rasheed’s agent crazy, but I can respect that.
I think there is a difference between production on and off the court.
The problem is not Sheed’s commitment to the community or his off the court behavior or attitude or anything like that.
The problem is that Pistons desperately need someone to play on the block, willing to bang and bring an inside prescence, to help the floor spacing by giving Rip room to run and to make the team less dependant on hitting jump shots.
If Sheed were making 1.2 mill and was the 9th guy on the bench (a la Michael Curry a few years back) or something like that, it would not be an issue. But he is not. He is getting paid premium money and he is not producing. If he was willing to work the low block and get his 16-9 every night, this would not be an issue. However (as has been discussed a zillion times), he does not want to be that guy.
If Joe D decides that whatever Sheed’s expiring deal brings back is better for the team than what Sheed could bring to the table next year (and I believe that it probably is), than I would expect nothing less than for him to make the deal. Much like the Tigers jettisoning Sean Casey, at some point production on the playing surface is the bottom line.
Sheed has been my favorite among the new generation of Pistons since the day he joined the franchise. With that having been said, he cannot deliver what the Pistons need.
“Sheed has been my favorite among the new generation of Pistons since the day he joined the franchise. With that having been said, he cannot deliver what the Pistons need.”
Sadly, I completely agree. I rock my Sheed jersey during games, but during the last few ECFs, it seems kinda silly to do it. By wearing that jersey, I’m saying, “I like players who drift around, don’t get rebounds, and then swear at the camera.” What I really mean to say is, “I like players who viciously dunk on their opponents, block shots, and grab boards.” Guess I should buy a JMax jersey…
Detroit, for whatever reason, never seems to have a consistent post 4 or 5. James Edwards was the closest in the Bad Boys era, and none of the big men in this era have done that. ‘Sheed plays like ‘Sheed plays, and there are many, many positives to that. He was never going to be the guy who always plays down low. Maybe the Pistons need somebody like that, but they haven’t traditionally been that easy to find for this team.
And as a human being, he’s very interesting. In all the NBA, the two guys I would most like to go to dinner with are ‘Sheed and Steve Nash.
Ahh, this is one of the reasons why I would hate losing ‘Sheed.
TRADE SHEED NOW.
Hey,
You guys want Sheed to play on the block again? Just get your opponents to guard him with Slava Medvedenko like the Lakers did in 04. That sure did light a fire under Rasheed and make him want to get down on the block and abuse the helpless Medvedenko.
I heard Joe Dumars on a radio show (via Need4Sheed) and he called the concerns of Rasheed’s teammates over Wallace hugging Garnett “BS” and said Rasheed hugs players all the time and nobody said anything when he was “D-ing the hell out of Dwight Howard [my rough recollection]”. Dumars reiterated that nobody was untouchable but I’m not seeing Rasheed Wallace being any more on the block then anyone else and quite possibly less.
Rasheed’s expiring contract is worth just as much to Detroit as any other team so the question is what kind of talent do you bring back in a deal for Wallace. If the answer isn’t “greater talent” then Wallace will be a Piston next year. Dumars said he wants talent and hunger, not addition by subtraction.
That said, good for ‘Sheed for being a good citizen and a leader in the community.
Hooray Red Wings!
They were the better team!
Thank you Wings, for bringing a Championship back to Detroit.
I still think Sheed should be traded if we get good or better value back.
Trade Sheed and Rip for Boozer and AK47. Or we ask for AK47 and Okur.
What do you all think?
WINGS!!!!
Sauce that’s how we fuckin roll! Yeah baby!
i dig sheed, i don´t want to see him leave.
that said, if he has to go: what do you think, sheed for al jefferson, straight up
i also would love to see linas kleiza backing up tayshaun ..
Congrats Wings, we love you. I think Ozzy should’ve gotten the MVP instead of Zetterberg, but amazing job regardless. I loved seeing McCarty come back from the farm leagues to do it again with Detroit.
As for Sheed, I’m sure he’s a good person at heart. It’s great that he shows that much dedication to the community, it really does mean a lot for our city. On the other hand, his flatness in the ticking seconds of our final games leaves a lot to be desired.
I also agree that I don’t believe Joe will trade ANY starter if he doesn’t get decent picks. As he stated, he won’t dump someone just to dump them. I do however still believe he, Tay, and I’m sure Hayes/Dixon are on the chopping block if he does happen to get a nice offer.
Okur doesn’t play on the block much either, and I’m not sure why Utah would give us Boozer, who is a beast. Al Jefferson would be a great guy to have, but ‘Sheed only makes sense for a team that thinks it can get over the hump in the next year or two — and that doesn’t describe Jefferson’s current employer.
I continue to think ‘Sheed is going to be pretty hard to replace, but then again, I wouldn’t have guessed that anyone would have traded away Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown.
Toledo: You know why. Memphis’ organization is actually ran by a giant magic 8 ball. When asked if Memphis should trade Kwame for Gasol, the ball read “All signs point to yes.”
It seemed like a good move at the time?
News Update: Davidson just fired Joe D., and replaced him with a replica of Memphis’ giant magic 8 ball. Chauncey just got traded for Jameer Nelson, straight up.
in the memph. trade there is a wild card in pau’s bro…could be interesting if things suffice as i have read
DD: I thought Osgood should have won the Conn Smythe too. Without him, the Wings would have probably bounced with Hasek, who didn’t appear to have anything left. I suppose they picked Zetterberg, who is a great choice among several, because of his points lead in the playoffs. He truly showed great worth, as well as Osgood.
This is me thinking out loud, but WHY does Sheed have two personalities like this? I mean, why put up the mean guy front? Isn’t it easier just being yourself than playing the part of two different personalities? And then that leads to the question of who is Sheed, really? I’m philosophical today.
Garrett:
Rasheed fared poorly with Portland because he was ‘the guy.’
Ben was ‘the guy’ until Ben left. Enter Chauncey.
I thought Chauncey was going to be a legendary point guard with unquestioned leadership. In one way, he’s been a better combo guard than I expected. In other ways, I am horrified and angered, not by anything he’s actively doing . . . by what he’s NOT doing.
Rasheed’s ‘the guy’ again . . . Chauncey stays way too quiet for his own good. Smooth really suits him, but apparently that doesn’t get the people moving. Rasheed being ‘the guy,’ however, seems to be his kryptonite.
It also didn’t help that Flip couldn’t do a thing with them for person-to-person and motivation. They were seeking out Curry, as I read in the Freep today, more than people realize.
Well it’s kind of hard to put Dixon on the chopping block since he’s a free agent…
Rasheed isn’t a bad dude, and he doesn’t put up a “front” of being a mean guy. He’s not a mean guy on the court, he speaks his mind. There is a difference
Then the Zen question for today is:
If these players are seeking out Curry, then is this REALLY the coach the team needs? Do you really want to give these players (whoever’s left) exactly what they want? Haven’t they been down that road before?
I tend to think that Joe D. already knows who he wants to ship out, though his 30-minute press conference/commercial creates the impression he’s open to moving anybody. Plus, it may lead the players who are left in the wake of the changes to feel lucky to remain here, instead of winding up in a Clipper or Bobcat uniform (If one of the many trade scenarios we’ve heard actually transpire). If this off-season instills a sense of urgency in the remaining core players, even out of fear of winding up on a lottery team, so much the better.
So…Who’s the next “The Guy?”
Keegan,
If the players were seeking out a new coach who is laid back and non-confrontational like Flip then I would definitely agree with you. From all accounts, Curry is the complete opposite…he seems to have no issues with running a tighter ship or getting into a players face and holding them accountable.
Curry seems to have bonded with the players and gained their respect much more then Flip could. No matter what the players relationship with Curry may be though, I don’t see him having an issue confronting that player and letting them know he’s not happy with what’s happening.
players want to be pushed, coached and confronted, but they want it from someone they respect. they as a team had way more success than flip and so they didn’t respect him. to them he was a glorified offensive coordinator.
with that being said, if they really are clamoring to have curry as coach he may have to do something big early on in the season that says “you may have helped me get this job, but this is my team now. i’ll do with it as i damn well see fit and you’ll damn well like it.”
I don’t think the players trusted Flip’s vision from the start. This was demonstrated well enough by Ben Wallace, who had his argument with Flip on the court for all to see back in 2006. I’m sure there were more arguments we did not see from 2005-2008. If the players do not trust a coach’s vision, then Rasheed’s the barometer . . . no matter what Flip was going to do, the players would sometimes second-guess it. The second-guessing was terrible these last two years.
Rasheed isn’t a bad guy. Flip isn’t a bad guy. But if your coach wants squares in a situation and you have a bunch of rounds, this is the type of frustration that can build over seasons. That may sound stupid, but stupid little things build, especially when someone’s philosophy does not match that of another, or others.
What Jim stated goes here. I agree. That Freep article has something to do with it, and so does Stephen A. Smith’s article on the subject of respect.
I think the hardest part, for these players, was being experienced, but having no central vision to tie their pieces together. We all saw 5 pieces out there at times, and there’s no denying that communication was not the best it could be on the court. A great coach can keep the proper perspective for the players when they’re drifting their own ways. He can pull them back into the moment. Larry Brown was wicked and exceptional at this. Chuck Daly was great at it, too. Big name coaches all possess this, in any sport. That is something I absolutely disagree that Flip possessed. He did not have this. And these players aren’t stupid, especially not Rasheed and Tayshaun.
Curry’s a total wild card. He could be the worst X’s and O’s coach on the planet, or a genius, far better than the Flipster, Chuck Daly, or even Popovich, Red, or Phil Jackson. That we may see in the near future.
Rasheed is a great player and he does great charity work but…
I heard Sheed was out partying his ass off during the playoffs from the team doctor, my mother works at the same hospital as him.
Sheed needs to go