Signing Rasheed Wallace Spells Doom for Any Team That Gambles on Him

Controversial NBA forward Rasheed Wallace has confirmed that he's serious about making a comeback to the league.

He's 37 and hasn't played competitively since the 2009-10 season. If he's in shape (that's a big if) Wallace could still have something left in the tank to help a contender. He definitely could help defend in the post and could help in rebounding and by extending opposing defenses with his range.

Who would be interested though? So far there have been no takers.

The team that could most use him, the Boston Celtics, have no interest.

Maybe the Celtics know something. Considering they desperately need a big man, if they don't have interest, maybe no one else will.

If anyone does have interest, the caution flag should come up right away.

It would be taking a major risk. One that could ultimately doom a contending team.

Signing Wallace means you get all of the baggage that comes along with it, and believe me there's a ton.

He hasn't exactly been a good teammate over the years and eventually having to settle for a limited role could end up being a big problem for Wallace. There's always the chance that Wallace could offer up more distraction than production.

A contending team really doesn't need that from Wallace or anyone else for that matter. It's too big of a risk to take.

Personally, I think Wallace has something left in the tank, but that's no guarantee. If you sign the guy that doesn't have much left to give, he often can turn into more of a headache than he's worth.

There's also the conditioning aspect of things. Anyone that would be interested would want a guy that could step in and help immediately. Who knows how long it would take Wallace to get into real basketball shape?

The Celtics were very disappointed that Wallace didn't get himself into good shape during that 2009-10 season, even having to ask out of Game 7 of the NBA Finals because of exhaustion.

So while Wallace could still be helpful in certain situations, he could also be damaging to a team in those same situations.

You just don't know what you're going to get and at the end of the day, and it's really not worth allowing Wallace to spell doom for a promising season.