Sheed hangs it up

[Giuseppe]

.......compared to the two shots that The Machine put on him a week ago just about now?

tee, hee.

[Darrin]

He could've been a lot better.

I think it's how you define it. If you want a 20-10-5-2 player, see Kevin Garnett. If you want a player that can score all over the court, initiate the offense, play pick-and-pop on both ends with the best in the game, always draw single coverage because of his complete game on the block, finishing in transition and around the rim, get key, clutch baskets and value team basketball, then you can be a fan of Rasheed Wallace. His statistics are the only place I see him lacking, and even then it's still his scoring. He put in the time in the gym from year one to fifteen. He valued the game. He showed up when he was needed. He knew when he was needed in every situation. He knew the scouting report on every player every time he went out on the court from 2004-05 to 2009-10. He was one of the best to expose the weaknesses in Dwight Howard. He scored 30 points in the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. I watched a lot of his career. I saw the majority of what was good about it. And I am telling you, he maximized his talent. He had no blind-side on the floor. He rarely was out of position. He was a damn good player.

[Greg Oden]

I think it's how you define it.

I define it by Rasheed Wallace not being the player he could've been. You'd be hard pressed to find someone who disagrees.

[freedom&justice]

Not at all surprised, it was time. And I'd rather see the guy retire than see him hang around until he's 40 or something and a s of his former self. Classic Sheed type exit with the refs too.

Dwight Howard must be relieved.

[Veterinarian]

Not at all surprised, it was time. And I'd rather see the guy retire than see him hang around until he's 40 or something and a s of his former self. Classic Sheed type exit with the refs too.

Dwight Howard must be relieved.

If he could come into camp without gynecomastia he could probably still play.

[me15lo]

one less asshole in the NBA

[LnGrrrR]

I wouldn't call Sheed average. But possible greatest ever? Nah.

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

He showed up when he was needed. He knew when he was needed in every situation.

So his team needed him to get ejected against Cleveland in a must win game during the 2007 playoffs? Just accept it, Sheed wasted his talent and coulda been a dominant big, he chose not to be.

[mingus]

Rasheed could have been the best player out of Duncan and KG if only he wanted to. for whatever reason he didn't want to fill his potential. he will go down as an underachiever, but also a guy who was a key contributer on a some great, great teams. basically, carved out a very respectable place for himself on talent alone, but left a lot more to be desired. depending on how you look at it, his career was either a success or a failure.

[Giuseppe]

one less asshole in the NBA

Yep, yep.

[pauls931]

Nice to see him retire before completely falling apart. Granted he already has some les under his belt making the decision easier.

[Giuseppe]

Nice to see him retire before completely falling apart.

Though he was dragged (still in his uni) from the ref's locker room at Staples and put on the team bus to LAX after the last NBA game of his life.

As Luva is won't to say: "nobody closes us", but, we closed that hump.

[Darrin]

So his team needed him to get ejected against Cleveland in a must win game during the 2007 playoffs? Just accept it, Sheed wasted his talent and coulda been a dominant big, he chose not to be.

Sheed had a good game and the game was over by the time he was ejected. He was the best and most effective player that entire series. He was the Pistons offense in the first quarter of that game. In a series in the 70s in terms of points, he averaged 14.0 a game. He had two double-doubles in the first two games (both wins) for the Pistons. Chris Webber didn't show up until late, and he was out-matched by Ilguaskaus's size. Chauncey Billups was taken out of the series early, second-guessing himself the entire time, by Larry Hughes' early play on him. Boobie Gibson exploding for 36 points because the Pistons left him open early and got hot? There are a lot of reasons the Pistons lost that series. Rasheed Wallace's ejection was a curtain-call for a bunch of mistakes. You have to understand how he works. When he gets frustrated, especially if the whistle is going the way, he gets ticked off. He was up and cheering for his teammates on the bench during that game. Look a little deeper than the highlights or at least take the observations from someone who watched him in Detroit.

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

Sheed had a good game

If 11 points off 36% shooting and 2 rebounds is a good game then yeah, Sheed had a good game

[mavsluva]

I think he fears having to stay in shape in the offseason. The older you get, the harder it becomes!

[Sportcamper]

Sheed has been one of my favorite “what if” players…

What if Rasheed Wallace came to LA…Blended in with all the fruits & nuts we have out here… And realized that he is quite normal by LA standards..What if Rasheed Wallace was coached by Jerry West, Phil Jackson, Magic & Tex at an early age…Learned to control his temper while keeping his iden y… What if Rasheed played with Shaq, Kobe, Fox, Horry, and Fisher…The guy would have 5 rings & he would be headed to the hall of fame…

[Boston Pancake]

a duck!

[Giuseppe]

Wallace always hated us. It was personal with him, like it was with the old Celtics. These new Celtics, they portended hate, but, they didn't have it ingrained in them no matter the efforts of Ainge to indoctrinate them such. Ainge though didn't have to educate Wallace, his hate for us was vibrant, a spiteful living thing.

He, I said, he was goin' to drag us all to the palm tree of woe and crucify us last Thursday night.

Then Fish & Artest said, "uh, uh, daddy-O, not on your sweet bippy." And then ended that .

I watched it again last evening. One week annidada and all. I felt it proper. Katie-girl walked by, rolled her eyes and went about her business. The .

I get so nervous when Mamba jumps up to pass the ball at the end not knowing where he's going to pass it and then finds Artest. Oh, it's so sweet I nearly cream my jeans anew each time.

[Mike D]

First player ever to play 10+ seasons without committing a foul.

[JamStone]

Great, great talent. And actually quite a high basketball IQ. Lol, ironic thing is that he'd still do bone-headed things despite knowing better, whether because of his temper or because of an ADHD moment of lapse in judgment. He knows the right play, but sometimes he would disregard it.

I can see why he was a frustrating player to many people. He had immense talent and never lived up to it. Never tried to reach his potential. Never tried to be the best player. He was content being a very good player, as opposed to being one of the greatest. But, I think that's part of what was so likable about him. He genuinely and sincerely didn't care about personal individual honors or awards, accolades or acknowledgment. And I truly think that was real. He cared about his teammates and coaches (for the most part, there are examples of him being an idiot of course), and he cared about winning. Not a perfect person. Not a perfect player. But he "kept it real" and he played with a passion and fire even when he didn't play well or did his best.

Now, the problem is that many people will remember the negatives. His technical fouls. His chasing down officials and challenging to fight them. His pot smoking. Comparing Stern and the NBA to slaveowners and other comments of the like. His fat gut every start of training camp. The 2008-09 season where he did stop caring. Those will stand out more to some.

Maybe he could have been an all time great player. And maybe he did waste his talent by not trying to be a much, much better player than he was. And maybe by not doing that, he hurt many of the teams he was on.

But I don't think those things concern him. And I think he played the game and left the game on his terms. I'm not going to hate on him for that.

[Veterinarian]

Great, great talent. And actually quite a high basketball IQ. Lol, ironic thing is that he'd still do bone-headed things despite knowing better, whether because of his temper or because of an ADHD moment of lapse in judgment. He knows the right play, but sometimes he would disregard it.

I can see why he was a frustrating player to many people. He had immense talent and never lived up to it. Never tried to reach his potential. Never tried to be the best player. He was content being a very good player, as opposed to being one of the greatest. But, I think that's part of what was so likable about him. He genuinely and sincerely didn't care about personal individual honors or awards, accolades or acknowledgment. And I truly think that was real. He cared about his teammates and coaches (for the most part, there are examples of him being an idiot of course), and he cared about winning. Not a perfect person. Not a perfect player. But he "kept it real" and he played with a passion and fire even when he didn't play well or did his best.

Now, the problem is that many people will remember the negatives. His technical fouls. His chasing down officials and challenging to fight them. His pot smoking. Comparing Stern and the NBA to slaveowners and other comments of the like. His fat gut every start of training camp. The 2008-09 season where he did stop caring. Those will stand out more to some.

Maybe he could have been an all time great player. And maybe he did waste his talent by not trying to be a much, much better player than he was. And maybe by not doing that, he hurt many of the teams he was on.

But I don't think those things concern him. And I think he played the game and left the game on his terms. I'm not going to hate on him for that.

Fwiw I don't wanna live in a world where pot smoking is considered a negative, especially since it prevents certain forms of cancer (http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/200...n-tumor-growth, http://www.opednews.com/articles/lif...slows_tumo.htm, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...052501729.html). is a wonder drug tbh.

[Greg Oden]

Sheed has been one of my favorite “what if” players…

What if Rasheed Wallace came to LA…Blended in with all the fruits & nuts we have out here… And realized that he is quite normal by LA standards..What if Rasheed Wallace was coached by Jerry West, Phil Jackson, Magic & Tex at an early age…Learned to control his temper while keeping his iden y… What if Rasheed played with Shaq, Kobe, Fox, Horry, and Fisher…The guy would have 5 rings & he would be headed to the hall of fame…

A motivated Sheed teamed up with Shaq and Kobe is a scary thought for any other fans who would've thought their team had a chance.

[scampers]

Sheed came in and helped us get a championship. Despite all of the disappointments since then, I will always remember him for what he did during that that '04 run.

[Giuseppe]

Sheed came in and helped us get a championship. Despite all of the disappointments since then, I will always remember him for what he did during that that '04 run.

Sure, the half wit sobered up & straightened out for one gd series his entire career, unfortunately it was vs. my Lakers.

me.

[Bob Lanier]

He will be missed.