The Celtics followed their ?win-now? philosophy by agreeing to terms on a two-year deal with forward Rasheed Wallace on Sunday night.
Boston, focused on making a few more championship runs with their current core, threw everything but the kitchen sink at Wallace, who spent the last five-plus seasons with the Pistons.
The Celtics sent Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, president Danny Ainge and owner Wyc Grousbeck to Detroit last week to meet with the free-agent forward.
Wallace will help Boston remain among the leading contenders for the NBA title, but the signing further places the onus on the present.
When the 2009-10 season opens, each of the Celtics? four highest-paid players will be over the age of 32. Paul Pierce (soon-to-be 32), Ray Allen (soon-to-be 34), Kevin Garnett (33) and Wallace (soon-to-be 35) will combine to make somewhere around $62 million.
There will undoubtedly be more than a handful of clubs that spend less than that on their entire roster this fall.
Boston will contend in each of the next two seasons, even with Allen hitting the free agent market and Pierce having a major decision to make on his player option next summer, but after that the future is certainly in question.
Ainge has the luxury of working in a short-sided business, and in a town that is once again demanding nothing short of an NBA title each year. Signing Wallace will look like an ingenious move if the Celtics make their second Finals appearance in three years. If they win their 18th title, Ainge might as well be Bob Cousy.
The Celtics were criticized for their tendency to whine and complain endlessly to officials last season, and acquiring Wallace will only add to their tally of technical fouls and ejections.
An enduring image from this past spring?s first-round matchup between the Bulls and Celtics was a well-dressed Garnett shouting in the left ear of Ben Gordon. Less than a year from now, we could see Wallace shouting in Gordon?s other ear as Garnett continues his assault from the opposite side.
On the court, however, Wallace is almost an ideal fit for Boston.
He plays like a man both taller and shorter than he actually is; if that makes any sense. He?ll be able hang around the perimeter with the likes of Pierce and Allen, hitting three-point shots with consistency. His ability to drag his defender out of the paint when he so chooses will allow Garnett to work one-on-one more often than in the past, while also clearing the line for penetration by either Rondo or Pierce.
Wallace will also fortify a Boston defense that was already among the best in the league. He runs the floor well, and is athletic for a man his size. If he doesn?t lose his temper, he?ll turn out to be a bargain signing for a team that is hardly concerned with either the salary cap or the luxury tax.
His numbers took a slight dip back in 2006, but since then Wallace has been fairly consistent. Things didn?t go very well in Detroit this past season, but Rasheed still put up 12 points and grabbed 7.5 rebounds. His field goal percentage hit an eight-year low, but his long-range marksmanship was what we?ve come to expect. He?s a 34% shooter from three-point land for his career, and has been above 35% in each of the last four years.
He?ll never come close to leading the league in accuracy, but he seems to nail important three-pointers late in games. Rivers and Ainge will live with a few ill-advised bombs in the first half as long as he converts in the clutch.
The Wallace signing means that Glenn ?Big Baby? Davis will sign elsewhere, probably San Antonio, which leaves Rondo and Kendrick Perkins as the team?s only solid members of the rotation on the upswing of their careers.
Signing Davis might have put them in better position to win past the post-Big Three era, but there is plenty of evidence to suggest that signing Wallace for two years was a better move than inking Davis for four or five.
First of all, Wallace will provide them with more right now; Glenn?s new-found midrange jump shot be damned.
Also, Davis could be one of those players that converts a good postseason into a larger contract than he truly deserves. He more than doubled his regular-season scoring average (7.0 to 15.8) in fourteen playoff games and teams too often fall in love with May heroes.
Grade For Boston: A-
I?ll grade the Celtics just the way that Ainge is expecting many will. Rather than attempt to get a tad young and set the foundation for two or three years from now, he opted to sign a veteran that can help Boston get past the likes of Orlando and Cleveland next season.
I?ve heard people compare the Celtics to the Lakers of 2003-04, but that?s completely ludicrous. Gary Payton and Karl Malone were absolute shells of their former selves, while Boston?s veterans (let?s say, Allen and Wallace) have more than enough juice left in the tank to be both productive and successful.
Fans of the Magic won?t be happy to hear this, especially since Orlando coveted Wallace, but I?d say the signing pushes the Celtics past the Magic in the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers still have another move to make in order to set up a title run with LeBron James and Shaquille O?Neal, which means that Boston is my favorite in the East, as of today.
Grade for Wallace: A
Wallace was going to get similar money no matter where he signed, and while a majority of his suitors were contenders, I like the way he fits in Boston. San Antonio would have been ideal as well, but with the injury history of Manu Ginobili (and even Tony Parker) the Celtics give him the best chance to win his second championship ring.
?Sheed was in the right place at the right time with his contract situation. Just as things began to shift in Detroit, with the team undergoing major turnover, he jumps from what was one of the NBA?s most stable franchises to one with an even more established tradition.
Andrew Perna is Deputy Editor of RealGM.com and co-host of RealGM's Radio Show. Please feel free to contact him with comments or questions via e-mail: Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com