Wallace & May are both UFA

We all know about the big time moves made in the National Basketball Association. If you don’t, I am talking about Shaquille O’neal to the Cavaliers and Tar Heel Vince Carter to the Magic (which I am going to have a piece about him on The Fifth Corner shortly). But what about another two ex Heels, one coached by Dean Smith while at North Carolina and the other by Roy Williams, who are unrestricted free agents and could definitely help out whatever team they end up on? For those of you that still have not figured it out, I am talking about Rasheed Wallace (Detroit Pistons) and Sean May (Charlotte Bobcats), who are both going to be leaving their prior teams and will be looking to find homes elsewhere.

Rasheed Wallace

As far as Wallace is concerned, he has reached the age of 34 and is not the same player that he was in his prime (then again, who is?), that is unquestionable. Any team looking for a banger down low should be advised to look elsewhere quickly, and don’t look back! However, the veteran forward can definitely still play the game in the Association, and with the way he can go outside the 3 point line and hit the shot, any team that is going to contend for the title could use him. I feel that the path that Rasheed is taking in what is going to be his last contract in the NBA is the same one as Shaq with the Cavaliers. It’s a short term answer in trying to winning it all, an “all in” type of move we could say, which should be beneficial to both the player and the team. Let’s face, Rasheed does not have much left in the tank, but I think he still has at least one or two good years in him (especially if coming off the bench or not having to play high number of minutes). That means any team rebuilding should do the same thing as the ones looking for an insider banger. All in all the Wallace acquisition might be the best fire sale of this off season, as the power forward/center isn’t going to be an enormous cost to a franchise, but might be the missing piece of the puzzle to being the best team (or close to it). The destinations that could make sense (to me anyways) for the big man are a couple: Orlando or San Antonio. Both places where Sheed would not have to be a starter, would not have to be a primary piece, but could definitely contribute enough to make a difference for those franchises.

Sean May

For May the road to finding a squad will be a lot different, and probably a lot harder, since the ex Carolina  big man never got a real chance to show what he can do with the Bobcats (not consistantly anyways), due to his injuries. There is no doubt in my mind that the ex power forward from Chapel Hill can play in the NBA, he just needs to find the team that will let him. In the end May could not stay in Charlotte anymore where him and head coach Larry Brown could not see eye to eye, and that situation was not going to get fixed. Now he needs to find a team/coach that will let him grow into his position once again, which means he has to go to a squad which is not thin at the power forward position. At 25 May is in the opposite position as Wallace, he needs to find a team that is 2-3 years from trying to compete for the title (or to getting into the playoffs). And while I know this is not going to happen, with the way coach D’Antoni likes to push the tempo, the ex national champ power forward would be a good fit with the Knicks. On the other hand, maybe Phoenix could be another spot for May, where they have seem to have sold most of its pieces in an attempt to rebuild.

Of course, as I do with any other Tar Heel, let me wish the best to both Rasheed Wallace and Sean May as they look for their next home in the NBA. For Wallace this is probably the last go around, for May this could be the one that shows what he can (or can’t do). For both this is very important!

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