Lakers Rumors: Signing Rasheed Wallace Is Brilliant, Low-Risk Move by L.A.

Former All-Star forward Rasheed Wallace hasn't played an NBA game since Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals as a member of the Boston Celtics. Despite that, the Los Angeles Lakers' reported decision to sign him is a great one.

According to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSN New England, Wallace and the Lakers are expected to reach an agreement soon. While there is certain to be plenty of criticism regarding the signing, because Wallace is 37 years old, there's no risk from the Lakers' point of view, so it makes perfect sense.

Blakely is reporting that Wallace performed well in a pro-am tournament over the summer and that his training regimen has him in excellent shape. If that is the case and Wallace can still play, then it would be silly for the Lakers to allow him to sit at home when he can be a strong contributor.

Wallace has been named an All-Star four times over the course of his career and won an NBA Championship with the Detroit Pistons in 2004, so he brings with him a wealth of experience and success. He also has career averages of 14.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.

Obviously, Wallace isn't going to step in and put up those types of numbers, but he is a good veteran presence to have, and he should be an asset coming off the bench. Despite what some may be thinking, this doesn't necessarily mean that Los Angeles is planning to trade Pau Gasol.

I highly doubt that Wallace was signed to play significant minutes. As a big who can rebound, block shots and hit jumpers, though, he can be a big help while playing around 15 minutes per contest in relief of Gasol and Andrew Bynum.

The Lakers don't have much in terms of reliability behind the those two players right now in Troy Murphy and Josh McRoberts, so the signing would make sense on plenty of levels. Bynum's knee problems are well documented, and if he is forced to miss some games at any point, 'Sheed can keep the team afloat in short spurts.

Since the Lakers haven't been their usual, dominant selves this season, some will probably be quick to call this a desperation move. It's unfair to label something as desperation, though, every time it involves signing a veteran player. There's no better big man on the market right now, so the Lakers are merely making an improvement that costs them little to make.

Obviously, Wallace alone isn't going to be enough to get the Lakers to where they want to be, but it's a positive step. L.A. needs to add either a point guard to take some of the ball-handling pressure off Kobe Bryant, or a wing player who can shoulder a bit of the scoring burden as well.

Because Wallace is older, it's inevitable that this move is going to be blasted in the media. When there's an opportunity to improve the team, however, no matter how old or young the player is, then the move should be made.