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Wallace's fiery attitude the spark Denver needs
By Mark Kiszla
Denver Post Sports Columnist
This was the face of Rasheed Wallace that none of the people who hate him wants to see.
Wallace, known across America as the NBA's angriest millionaire, was working the Portland locker room like comedian Dave Chappelle, cracking jokes that had teammates falling down in laughter.
Could this happy face possibly belong to the same bitter player who insulted everyone from commissioner David Stern to ticket-buying customers by proclaiming that African-Americans are exploited by the NBA?
"Right now his reputation is that he's a volatile guy," Trail Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks said Monday. "I don't know how you change that reputation of fans thinking you're a crazy guy."
Could Wallace possibly be the final piece to the amazing rebuilding project that is the Nuggets?
Could 'Sheed, due to be a free agent at season's end, find happiness in Denver?
"At the end of the day, someone is going to cut that check. It doesn't matter if it's Team A, Team B or Team C. Someone is going to cut it," Wallace told The Denver Post after the Nuggets' 116-97 victory.
Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe refused comment when asked about Wallace, citing stringent league regulations against tampering with impending free agents.
That silence spoke volumes. With the possibility of almost $20 million under the salary cap to spend on talent later this year, Denver does not dare do anything that would hinder the team's chance to sign Wallace.
Why would the Nuggets have interest in 'Sheed, whose most notorious career statistic is the single-season record for technical fouls (41)?
"People associate him with having tantrums on the floor," said Cheeks, who seems genuinely fond of coaching Wallace and goes so far as to call him a leader. "I think people focus more on his temper rather than his ability. And that's kind of a shame."
In the NBA, talent always wins. And Wallace is 6 feet, 11 inches of proven low-post moves that could convert Denver from inept to impressive in the half-court offense.
In the league's ugliest story this side of Kobe Bryant's sexual-assault charges, Wallace went ballistic with a Portland newspaper in December, repeatedly dropping the most repulsive racist word in the English language to describe how the NBA crassly profits from "dumb and dumber" black players who mindlessly shut up and play.
It was a very raw screed that made people forget Wallace has twice been named to the NBA All-Star Game.
Wallace's salary is more than $200,000. Per game. The cost is the heckling Wallace hears from spectators who fork over five bucks for a beer in NBA arenas.
The Blazers, lagging badly in the Western Conference playoff race, have made it no secret they are willing to entertain trade offers for Wallace before the Feb. 19 deadline. There seems to be no shortage of vultures looking to prey on Portland's current position of weakness.
New Knicks honcho Isiah Thomas needs another name to put above the marquee of Madison Square Garden, and notoriety sells tabloid newspapers. The Dallas Mavericks, who could use a little mean, still have not found a way to fill the hole in the team's middle. There are whispers the Golden State Warriors, stuck with disgruntled point guard Nick Van Exel, might be tempted to do a straight-up swap of petulance for bitterness.
The Nuggets must hope the trade deadline passes with Wallace still stuck in the Oregon rain. Why? It would seem impossible for Denver to trade for the 29-year-old center's $17 million annual salary without breaking up the core of Carmelo Anthony, Andre Miller, Nene, Marcus Camby and Earl Boykins.
But, in the open market of summer, it would make sense for Denver to give Wallace every available ink-blot test and determine if a little Colorado sunshine therapy could turn that infamous frown upside down.
What will make him happy? "Winning. Winning something. Winning a ring," Wallace said.
Unlike Kenyon Martin of New Jersey, Wallace could be pursued without the strings attached of restricted free agency.
Unlike Martin, Wallace could make for a better three-man rotation in the post with Camby and Nene.
Would Vandeweghe seriously consider gambling big money on Wallace, condemned as trouble by conventional wisdom?
Put it this way. Vandeweghe and Wallace share a bond common among rebels. Neither man much cares what anybody else in the NBA thinks.
Wallace's fiery attitude the spark Denver needs
By Mark Kiszla
Denver Post Sports Columnist
This was the face of Rasheed Wallace that none of the people who hate him wants to see.
Wallace, known across America as the NBA's angriest millionaire, was working the Portland locker room like comedian Dave Chappelle, cracking jokes that had teammates falling down in laughter.
Could this happy face possibly belong to the same bitter player who insulted everyone from commissioner David Stern to ticket-buying customers by proclaiming that African-Americans are exploited by the NBA?
"Right now his reputation is that he's a volatile guy," Trail Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks said Monday. "I don't know how you change that reputation of fans thinking you're a crazy guy."
Could Wallace possibly be the final piece to the amazing rebuilding project that is the Nuggets?
Could 'Sheed, due to be a free agent at season's end, find happiness in Denver?
"At the end of the day, someone is going to cut that check. It doesn't matter if it's Team A, Team B or Team C. Someone is going to cut it," Wallace told The Denver Post after the Nuggets' 116-97 victory.
Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe refused comment when asked about Wallace, citing stringent league regulations against tampering with impending free agents.
That silence spoke volumes. With the possibility of almost $20 million under the salary cap to spend on talent later this year, Denver does not dare do anything that would hinder the team's chance to sign Wallace.
Why would the Nuggets have interest in 'Sheed, whose most notorious career statistic is the single-season record for technical fouls (41)?
"People associate him with having tantrums on the floor," said Cheeks, who seems genuinely fond of coaching Wallace and goes so far as to call him a leader. "I think people focus more on his temper rather than his ability. And that's kind of a shame."
In the NBA, talent always wins. And Wallace is 6 feet, 11 inches of proven low-post moves that could convert Denver from inept to impressive in the half-court offense.
In the league's ugliest story this side of Kobe Bryant's sexual-assault charges, Wallace went ballistic with a Portland newspaper in December, repeatedly dropping the most repulsive racist word in the English language to describe how the NBA crassly profits from "dumb and dumber" black players who mindlessly shut up and play.
It was a very raw screed that made people forget Wallace has twice been named to the NBA All-Star Game.
Wallace's salary is more than $200,000. Per game. The cost is the heckling Wallace hears from spectators who fork over five bucks for a beer in NBA arenas.
The Blazers, lagging badly in the Western Conference playoff race, have made it no secret they are willing to entertain trade offers for Wallace before the Feb. 19 deadline. There seems to be no shortage of vultures looking to prey on Portland's current position of weakness.
New Knicks honcho Isiah Thomas needs another name to put above the marquee of Madison Square Garden, and notoriety sells tabloid newspapers. The Dallas Mavericks, who could use a little mean, still have not found a way to fill the hole in the team's middle. There are whispers the Golden State Warriors, stuck with disgruntled point guard Nick Van Exel, might be tempted to do a straight-up swap of petulance for bitterness.
The Nuggets must hope the trade deadline passes with Wallace still stuck in the Oregon rain. Why? It would seem impossible for Denver to trade for the 29-year-old center's $17 million annual salary without breaking up the core of Carmelo Anthony, Andre Miller, Nene, Marcus Camby and Earl Boykins.
But, in the open market of summer, it would make sense for Denver to give Wallace every available ink-blot test and determine if a little Colorado sunshine therapy could turn that infamous frown upside down.
What will make him happy? "Winning. Winning something. Winning a ring," Wallace said.
Unlike Kenyon Martin of New Jersey, Wallace could be pursued without the strings attached of restricted free agency.
Unlike Martin, Wallace could make for a better three-man rotation in the post with Camby and Nene.
Would Vandeweghe seriously consider gambling big money on Wallace, condemned as trouble by conventional wisdom?
Put it this way. Vandeweghe and Wallace share a bond common among rebels. Neither man much cares what anybody else in the NBA thinks.
