Should 'Sheed Stay or Should 'Sheed Go? (Part 1)

If you're a Pistons fan, it's hard not to have a soft spot for Rasheed Wallace. The way The Palace fans bellow out his name -- "Sheeeeeeed!"-- when he's on the low block. The way he talks: "We ain't afraid of them cats, man." The way he gets booed on the road, only to silence the crowd with the stroke of a dagger 3.

His physical abilities (6-11, strong, athletic, quick) and basketball skills (world-class turnaround J, excellent shot-blocker, high hoops IQ) are duly noted. But so is his short temper and his notoriety for picking up T's. In the past, Piston teammates have said those situations get both Rasheed and the rest of the team fired up. It's usually a good thing when he gets mad, they'd say, because that means he's about to take over the game, if only for a handful of key possessions.

But more often than not of late, Sheed's temper has gotten the best of him. Last year, he threw a temper-tantrum to finish off Detroit's meltdown against the Cavs. And this year, the officiating in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Sheed's post-game bleep-bleep-bleep rant and the resulting $25,000 fine seemed to take him off his game.

According to an AP report, Sheed was late to the game-day shootaround and missed stretching with his teammates prior to Game 6 of the ECF. He then didn't follow his routine before tipoff, when he typically dances wildly in a circle of his teammates. Instead, he simply stood in the middle of them, hardly moving at all.

In an elimination game, with the Pistons' season on the line, Sheed had more fouls (5) than points (4).

So that brings me to the point of my post: Should Joe Dumars hang onto Sheed, or trade him away? The 33-year-old -- he'll be 34 by the start of next season -- has one year and $12.5 million left on his contract. At those numbers, he'll surely target the interest of GMs who think he could be the missing piece.

But what makes Joe D a good GM is that he isn't reactionary. He only wants to make moves if it's going to make his team better. So, can he find a scenario in which dumping Sheed would make Detroit better?

First let's look at the current big men on the Pistons.

1. Antonio McDyess. Like Rasheed, the Dice man turns 34 next season, too. But he has two years left on his contract. He should be a valuable piece to the team during those two seasons, but the odds are he'll play a waning role as more of a complementary player. He was the only starter whose minutes actually increased during the regular season. You can't expect that to continue.

2. Jason Maxiell. Maxy grew up this season, particularly during the playoffs. He's an athletic freak with a lot of heart, and he's getting more and more comfortable with his offensive game. I think he's good enough to start and play 35 minutes per game, but I wonder if his 6-7 height can be a liability at times, particularly on the defensive end. There's no question he's part of Detroit's future, but he's definitely not replacing Sheed.

3. Amir Johnson. Apparently Flip Saunders didn't think his 6-11, 21-year-old power forward was quite ready for prime time, as he didn't play a meaningful minute in the playoffs. But after signing a 3-year, $12-million contract last offseason, Joe D again showed he knows what he's doing. While his offense definitely needs polishing, Amir's presence at the defensive end and on the boards is reminiscent of a young Sheed. The sky is the limit for the last high school player ever drafted. I just wonder if he could've had more of an impact than Theo Ratliff in the playoffs this year. Hard to say, but like Maxy, he's not going anywhere.

4. Cheikh Samb. The 7-foot-2 center from Senegal impressed me in his small sample size of game action, including a game against the Lakers back in December when his presence was felt on both ends of the floor. He bulked up a lot from last season and appears to have a lot of natural ability -- both as a shot-blocker and short-range jump shooter. If Sheed gets traded, he'll likely get more opportunities next year, but I wouldn't expect him to play a major role. He's behind Maxiell and Amir on the big-man totem pole, but he could be a valuable ace in the hole.

5. Theo Ratliff. I thought the former NBA shot-blocking leader gave the Pistons some positive minutes both in the regular season and the playoffs after getting bought out by Minnesota. Theo's now a free agent and he'll definitely garner interest from some teams. It never hurts to have a veteran big man who can play defense, but I think the Pistons are better off giving those minutes to the promising young guys I've already mentioned.

The bottom line: Detroit is not going to win a championship next year with a big man rotation of McDyess, Maxiell, Johnson and Samb. They probably wouldn't make it a seventh trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, either. It would be a great opportunity for the young guys to develop, but it would further close the championship window on the Billups/Hamilton/Prince backcourt. Of course, who knows if that trio is capable of winning another title together.

Assuming they are for the sake of this analysis, Detroit would likely need an All-Star caliber big man in his prime to make next year's team better than the one that just lost to the Celtics. And not one who often prefers to drift out to the perimeter, which allows guys like Kendrick Perkins to dominate the boards.

In Part 2 of this entry, I'll take a look at this summer's potential free agent pool of big men (not strong) and also examine some trade possibilities.