MICHAEL ROSENBERG: Saunders must strike balance with Wallace

January 11, 2007

BY MICHAEL ROSENBERG

FREE PRESS COLUMNIST

Flip Saunders brought Rasheed Wallace off the bench again Wednesday, and if Saunders had announced the move via e-mail, he would have added a bunch of smiley-face emoticons. The Pistons say Rasheed is happy, Flip is happy, and if they ate lunch together, they'd order Happy Meals.

Saunders said the move was not disciplinary. He had to say that, because the night before, the same move was disciplinary; Wallace had been late to Monday's practice, so Saunders kept him out of Tuesday's starting lineup.

Advertisement
click here
Only a relentless, muckraking, weasel journalist would make this into a big scandal, and one thing I am NOT is relentless.

So this isn't a season-breaking deal. But as I watched Wallace's interactions with Saunders in a 103-96 loss to Charlotte, I wasn't sure if they needed agents or divorce lawyers.

Some highlights: An angry Flip calls a 20-second timeout; Rasheed spends approximately three of those 20 seconds listening to his coach, then walks back toward the scorer's table. After Rasheed misses a shot, Flip jumps up and calls another timeout; Rasheed rolls his eyes and spends most of the timeout staring off into space.

Saunders could have taken off his suit in the huddle and Wallace would not have noticed.

Did Saunders have a read on 'Sheed's body language?

"I don't really have a read," Saunders said.

I do have a read on the coach's body language, as well as his terse answer: I think he was annoyed. With Chauncey Billups injured, the Pistons need their other stars to play with energy. They looked awful in their loss to the baby Bobcats.

It's hard for most people to stay interested in the entire NBA regular season, but at $12 million a year, Wallace should at least try.

It would be wrong to say Rasheed zoned out in timeouts simply because he is peeved about his Tuesday benching. The truth is that Wallace has been doing this stuff, to varying degrees, for more than a year. People only talk about it when the team is struggling.

But you can't tell me that the highest-paid guy on a contending team is supposed to avoid eye contact with his coach during timeouts. That is simply not how this is supposed to work.

And Saunders probably can't do a thing about it now. It has gone on too long.

Wallace said Tuesday night that he has no problem coming off the bench. There are two ways to read into that.

One conclusion is that he is the most unselfish player of his caliber in the league. That's pretty accurate.

Another conclusion is that Wallace values his independence above else.

Most players would be either apologetic or angry after a benching. Rasheed would rather say it doesn't bother him, as he did Tuesday night. That way, he remains unaffected by the whole incident.

This all stems from an incident when Rasheed was 7 years old on the playground and -- no, I'm kidding. That's enough psychoanalysis for one column.

So where does this leave the Pistons? Well, I should mention some other Wednesday highlights: Rasheed blocking a shot at one end, then nailing a three-pointer on the other; Rasheed setting a terrific screen; Rasheed knocking a ball loose. In other words, he remains a wonderful, unselfish player.

This is the balance Saunders must strike: He has to let 'Sheed be 'Sheed without letting 'Sheed cause a major disruption.

It is a constant challenge, and the Pistons' NBA Finals hopes hinge on it.

When Billups comes back, the Pistons will be deeper than they have been since they won the 2004 championship. But the masses don't watch the NBA regular season to appreciate great depth. They watch for the stars. Rasheed Wallace remains a man to watch -- for reasons both good and bad.

Contact MICHAEL ROSENBERG at 313-222-6052 or rosenberg@freepress.com.

Sounds like the Ben Wallace thing. Everything is cool but it aint. Fuck that benching.

Saunders hopes Wallace can spark Pistons off bench
Associated Press

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Rasheed Wallace did not start for Detroit on Wednesday night against Charlotte and, this time, Pistons coach Flip Saunders said it was for basketball reasons.

Rasheed Wallace
Power Forward
Detroit Pistons

Profile
2007 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
30 12.1 8.6 1.7 .429 .717

Against Philadelphia on Tuesday night, Wallace was benched after calling to say he would be late to a practice and was told to meet the team at the airport to travel for the game against the 76ers.

"This is strictly for basketball reasons," Saunders said before the Pistons lost 103-96 to the Bobcats. "We would like him to play about 30 minutes a night, so this will help, and he can give us a lift off the bench."

Wallace insisted he is OK with the move.

"I don't have beef with that," he said.

Wallace also said he doesn't have a problem with Saunders.

"I don't have time for that," he said.

In the locker room before the game, Wallace and his teammates were having fun with his new role.

"So, I heard you're up for the Sixth Man Award," center Dale Davis said.

Replied Wallace: "I'm going for that."

Detroit point guard Chauncey Billups, sidelined with an injured right calf, walked into the locker room about an hour before the game.

"You're late!" Wallace shouted.

"What are you going to do, bench me?" Billups joked.

Wallace, who has started most of his 800-plus career games, said he enjoyed being a reserve occasionally when he was in Portland and Washington.

"You get to see what you need coming off the bench," he said. "When you're starting, everything is about trying to get the lead."

Wallace has been slowed by an ankle injury this year, limiting him to 12 points per game -- his lowest output since the 1998-99 season with the Trail Blazers.

"Sheed has not played his best basketball lately, and part of that is because he hasn't been totally healthy," Saunders said. "This can be a way for us to know that we're going to limit his minutes. Until we get him physically where he needs to be, that might be a situation that would benefit him and might also benefit us."

Wallace entered the game against Charlotte with 4:15 left in the first quarter and he made his only attempt, a 3-pointer that gave the Pistons a seven-point lead. In the final seconds of the first half, his mid-range jumper was an airball that allowed Charlotte to stay ahead 45-35.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

From today's Daily Dime


C-Webb steps into trouble zone
By Chris Sheridan
ESPN.com

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Knowing he had done nothing to write home about -- even though he could have written something and home delivered it himself, being back in The D and all -- Chris Webber implored everyone afterward not to rush to judgment.
He produced a line that was nothing special -- 1-for-5 shooting, 2 points, five rebounds, three assists and two turnovers in 17 minutes -- for a team that hasn't done anything special for nearly a month, unless you consider it something special to go nearly four whole weeks without a victory over a winning team.

No, Webber was eager to have folks write off this 100-99 loss to the Utah Jazz as merely a getting-acquainted-with-you game for him and his new Detroit Pistons teammates, and you know what? He probably has a point.

Still . . .

There was so much that met the eye that just didn't seem right, we're going to disregard his advice and judge this one like we were Judge Judy -- quick-tempered, mean-spirited and caustic.

And before we get to a dissection of Webber's game, including the flat arc on his jumper, his slow feet on defense and the absence of anything remotely resembling a sprint from a pair of legs that had been resting for nearly a month, we're going to change the subject to what appears to be a growing note of discord and disharmony -- aw, heck, let's just call it hate -- between Rasheed Wallace and coach Flip Saunders.

At one point late in the third quarter during a timeout, nearly everyone on the Pistons' bench turned and stared at Sheed as he prematurely broke from the huddle and walked to the scorers' table to await the resumption of play.

Now Wallace has been doing this for years, but on this occasion, judging from the looks on the Pistons' faces, there was more to it. Webber even walked over and said something to Wallace, who replied with a shake of the head and the type of disgusted look you get from someone who doesn't want to be told to calm down or to make peace.

And when the fourth quarter came, Wallace was once again unable to control himself, drawing a technical foul with five minutes remaining for continuing to argue a foul call, ultimately earning himself a seat on the bench for the final 2:27 as Saunders went with a closing lineup of Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess, Carlos Delfino, Lindsey Hunter and Tayshaun Prince. That move left a gaping hole in the Pistons' interior defense, and the Jazz exploited it by scoring three of their final four buckets in the paint (where they scored 58 points) to stay ahead the rest of the way.

"You know, we've got to be smarter. We've got a lot of games that we've given points away with technical fouls down the stretch, and we've got to bite our lip. I'd say in most games where we've gotten technical fouls, we've lost. And in games we haven't gotten them, we've probably won. And in close games, you can't afford that. You just have to bite your lip and let it go, and we're not doing that," Saunders said.

It should be noted that Saunders made that comment unsolicited as he closed his postgame press conference.

Wallace did not comment after the game, although he did throw out the word "quagmire" with an f-bomb modifier to no one in particular as the media waited by Webber's locker.

"You never judge anything off of one time," Webber said, explaining how he tried to defer to teammates and wanted to be "non-noticeable" in his first game, all the while assuring the assembled horde that all would be well -- and fun even --before it's all said and done.

And while the Pistons certainly played with a higher degree of energy when Webber was in the game and benefited from the one part of his game -- passing -- that has not significantly deteriorated, they'll need to sustain that energy over the rest of the season when the ball is in Webber's hands. Why? Because every time he had the ball and none of his teammates were moving, their possessions ended with turnovers or missed jumpers. By C-Webb himself.

Heck, Nazr Mohammed (zero minutes) can do that to. But he's out of a job now and apparently on the block, and the Pistons are entering a transition phase in which they'll eventually work C-Webb into the starting five.

So this thing will evolve, but it also will be judged -- fairly or unfairly -- along the way.

And though it is indeed unfair to assess this signing in absolutes so soon, there will come a time when Webber's homecoming will get the thumbs-up or the thumbs-down.

When, I asked Webber, might that time come?

"People are going to pass judgment tonight and tomorrow, but I've been playing for a long time and I know that comes with the territory. But hopefully at the end of the year we'll see whether we accomplish our goal, and that'll be the time. Today is not the time. I just want to play with these guys, they're great players, feel them out and see where I fit in. You can't see where you fit in by forcing anything."

We'll agree with him on that one.

But we're going to judge this one with full knowledge that we're being premature, and we'll say this: Webber might help, but the Pistons have a whole lot that ain't working right, and once the Webber brouhaha dies down the focus will rightfully come back to Flip vs. Sheed, a feud that even Webber could see appears to be getting out of hand.

Chris Sheridan covers the NBA for ESPN Insider. To e-mail Chris, click here.



Mark my words - This team will not make it out of the first round ever again with Flip Saunders as their head coach.

I wouldn't be that surprised if the big man that ends up getting dealt is Sheed. Joe likes to operate under the radar, and everyone has been talking about which big is going to go, and Sheed's name is never mentioned.

It really seems that getting him out of here, no matter what it does to our interior D, might be the breath of fresh air that this team really needs.

dealing Sheed does us no good and kills our title shot. No one will give anything that can compensate right now, which is what Joe would want with Webber on loan.. I think it all finds a way to work out by playoff time(i'm usually the most skeptical about these things). And theres no turning back on Nazr being dealt after bench him.

dealing Sheed does us no good and kills our title shot. No one will give anything that can compensate right now, which is what Joe would want with Webber on loan.. I think it all finds a way to work out by playoff time(i'm usually the most skeptical about these things). And theres no turning back on Nazr being dealt after bench him.

The last thing I would want is for Sheed to go.

Yeah he hasnt been trying his best but come playoff time, he should be giving his best out there trying to prove that the Pistons are the shit. Of course I'd rather see Sheed playing his best right now.

If Sheed was to be traded before this trade deadline, Billups would have a hard time deciding if this team can really make it to the finals again for the years to come.

I wouldn't be that surprised if the big man that ends up getting dealt is Sheed. Joe likes to operate under the radar, and everyone has been talking about which big is going to go, and Sheed's name is never mentioned.

It really seems that getting him out of here, no matter what it does to our interior D, might be the breath of fresh air that this team really needs.

If he can hatch a stackhouse-for-hamilton level deal for Sheed I'm all for it. Short of that, I say let it ride. Come playoff time, a healthy Sheed makes this team a contender even with his issues.

As I said before I am against moving Sheed. I'd love to move him for a younger and solid big man, but who is going to want Sheed? Only teams that NEED a big man.

Unless you can swindle Gasol, Brand or someone like that for Sheed and a pick then I'm not interested in moving him. Yeah, he's lazy and getting older, but what can we possibly get for him?

Better yet, see if we can swindle Philly into a Sheed/DD/Flip and our pick for Dalembert/Andre Miller deal.

Sheed and Nazr for Jason Kidd?

Joking.

As I said before I am against moving Sheed. I'd love to move him for a younger and solid big man, but who is going to want Sheed? Only teams that NEED a big man.

Unless you can swindle Gasol, Brand or someone like that for Sheed and a pick then I'm not interested in moving him. Yeah, he's lazy and getting older, but what can we possibly get for him?

Better yet, see if we can swindle Philly into a Sheed/DD/Flip and our pick for Dalembert/Andre Miller deal.

I want nothing to do with Dalembert. He's a great shot blocker but he tries to block everything and always ends up out of position. His offensive game is pretty lax too. Andre Miller would be paid way too much to be a backup pg, although that would work out great because if we trade sheed, billups is as good as gone.