Celtics waive 'Sheed
Putting my jersey on backwards way too often. Might be time to walk away. |
The Boston Celtics announced today that they have waived forward/center Rasheed Wallace after coming to a mutual agreement following which Wallace plans to retire. “We would like to thank Rasheed for everything that he did for this team and organization last season,” said Danny Ainge, Celtics President of Basketball Operations. “We would like to wish Rasheed and his family the best as they move on into the next phase of their lives. He will always be a member of the Celtics family.”Well it looks like Danny wasn't able to find a trading partner, so Wallace is being waived with a buyout. As I predicted back in June I knew he wasn't going to leave the full 13 million on the table. With the buyout he'll end up having made some nice coin for his one Boston season. I blasted his effort and shot selection for most of that one year, but if the Celtics had only held on Game 7 it would have still ended up a great signing. It's funny how he went from a guy who signed who everyone was so excited about. It was said that he'd be able to fill both the Posey and PJ roles. Then he became persona non grata as the season wore on. His lazy chucking game wasn't what we had hoped for. Finally come playoff time he flipped the switch and while his stats weren't very good (including abysmal shooting in the Finals), his effort endeared him to Celtics fans everywhere. He obviously gave his all to try and step up for Perkins in Game 7 and if he did, he would be remembered in Boston similar to how Sox fans remember Dave Roberts.
It's a pity that Danny wasn't able to trade 'Sheed for at least a trade exception. I think it would have come in very handy right before the trade deadline. I was hoping for the same with Tony Allen. In an ideal world (at least to me) we would have moved 'Sheed + a few contracts and a couple firsts for Al Jefferson. Beasley, Josh Howard, and Rudy Fernandez were a few others I would have been happy with. In the end Danny couldn't get anything done (not from lack of effort) and the only winners are 'Sheed with the buyout money and the Celtics owners who save on paying whoever we would have brought in.