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The Celtics wasted no time responding to new Cavs center Shaquille O’Neal’s “win a ring for the king” campaign, reaching an agreement with Rasheed Wallace.
With the Celtics dealing with injuries, and the Cavs running out of steam this past June, the Magic swooped in as the Eastern Conference champs. While the fame must be nice while it lasts, both the Cavs and Celtics have attempted to find solutions to combat Dwight Howard.
The Celtics’ solution comes in the form of league bad boy Wallace, who spent the last five and a half seasons in Detroit.
While Wallace may not be the physical force that Shaq or Howard is, he will team up with Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to form what is likely to be the league’s most intense frontcourt.
The team sent out of a committee to reel in Wallace, with Garnett, Ray Allen, Pierce, owner Wyc Grousbeck, coach Doc Rivers, and President Danny Ainge all meeting with him last week.
They were obviously all convincing enough.
Before joining the Pistons in mid-2004, Wallace had played a starring role on losing teams in Washington, Portland and Atlanta. In Detroit, he joined an already successful ensemble and experienced winning a championship for the first time in his career.
But now, that success has come and gone in Detroit, and Wallace has found himself a free agent.
He's not looking to be a star, just for championship ring.
With Garnett, Pierce, and Allen all making close to, if not full, maximum salaries, the Celtics only had its mid-level exception (MLE) to offer. The MLE is estimated to be somewhere around $5.6-5.8 million, which is a considerable pay cut from the $13.93 million Wallace made last season.
The chance at another ring obviously was worth more to him, as he is expected to sign a two-year pact once he's eligible to do so.
Even with the addition of Wallace, the Celtics may not be done in gearing up for another championship run. Coach Doc Rivers, who previously coached free agent Grant Hill on the Magic, was said to have been meeting with Hill at his home in Orlando to discuss the possibility of Hill signing with Boston for the team’s biannual $1.9 million exception.
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