Bring 'Sheed to Boston; who's really gotten better?

By Brendan Hall
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Here's what I love about the level of transparency in this Golden Age of information: yesterday we learned that Celtics management flew out to Detroit to meet with free agent Rasheed Wallace and offer him the mid-level exception.

But as the story develops, we learn that it wasn't just Sheed, Wyc Grousbeck, Danny Ainge, and a couple cups of coffee. They brought the frig'n posse. Reportedly in attendance to woo Sheed were Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Nick Naylor, Cousin Skeeter and Don Vito Corleone.

Kidding aside, this is a deal that should have happened six years ago, when then-general manager Chris Wallace had the opportunity to trade Antoine Walker to the Trail Blazers in exchance for Sheed. But like most incompetent GMs in this league (and that's 75 percent of the league), he sat on his hands.

Love him or hate him, Sheed is a proven winner at every stop, dating all the way back to his days as a high schooler in Philadelphia. His arrival in Portland keyed a run to the 2000 Western Conference Finals, and his mid-season arrival in Detroit spawned an unheralded championship.

Sheed's polarizing personality and defensive mean streak fit like a glove in Boston. And not only that, he'd be an instant fan favorite in a city that patronizes guys with a mean streak. And, as an added bonus, he's one of the few guys in the league whose cuss-bombs actually bear some weight, in that sort of social commentary way. Brandon Jennings should take notes.

If and when Sheed makes his decision, I'll have more to say. But for now, let's look at the other happenings around the league in what has become an unexpectedly busy offseason. Who got better, who's taking a gamble, and who's staying the same?

Detroit Pistons: Better
Joe Dumars is by no means in hot water, but you have to admit you were taken aback by his mystifying draft picks (you knew what you were getting with Rodney Stuckey -- the jury's still out on Darren Daye's kid). By getting rid of his buddy Michael Curry (not a day too soon) and signing Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva to long-term deals worth a combined $90 million, he quickly settled any and all doubters.

But really, did the Pistons get that much better? Sure, the Iverson debacle led to a misleading record -- I thought they were the fourth-best team in the Eastern Conference -- but does Detroit leap-frog anybody? I'd say Orlando, and that's about it.

Dumars shored up the frontcourt -- it's looking like Jason Maxiell at the five, Villanueva at the four, and Tayshaun Prince at the three, with two very underrated Walter's (Herrmann and Sharpe) off the bench. Will Bynum figures to be a backup guard, in the one or two spot. But here's the problem: you've committed $55 million to a guy, so there's no way you put him on the bench. But Rodney Stuckey is the proven point guard, and Rip Hamilton can't play the three. Do you really want Ben Gordon coming off the bench? Better yet, after his explosive playoff series, does Ben Gordon want to go back to being a sixth man?

Come to think of it, that's not exactly a bad conflict to have.

Orlando Magic: Jury's out
The Magic traded their sixth-best guy (Courtney Lee) to New Jersey for their best guy (Vince Carter), and have made a firm statement that they're going all in after their NBA Finals dud last month. But in the long-term, the Nets might have gotten the better end of this deal. This is not the Vince Carter of the early 2000's, dunking over 7-foot-2 Frenchmen and faking an injury so he could dance on stage at a Nelly concert. And after all these years, Carter still has a reputation as a malcontent. This is a big roll of the dice.

Still, I can't wait for the infinite "Vince comes home to Florida" angles that ESPN will put out of their sleeves the next three months.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Better
The Cavs signed a 38-year-old Shaquille O'Neal -- again, another statement move. The media is calling this a statement on GM Danny Ferry's behalf -- "we're committed to you, and to prove it, we're giving you Shaq" -- but I'm not sure I agree all the way. Shaq is still effective in his old age, as evidenced by his surprisingly great season this year with the Suns, but how many more miles does this guy have left? His arrival in Phoenix was supposed to kick-start a complacent franchise; but even with him, Amare Stoudemire, Steve Nash and Raja Bell, the Suns made an early exit in 2008 and didn't even make the playoffs this year. LeBron is other-worldly, but you have to take that into consideration.

Los Angeles Lakers: Showtime v2.1
The signing of Ron Artest makes them the odds-on favorite to win the Finals in 2010. Artest gives them everything they had in Trevor Ariza and then some. He's always been known as a defensive beast, but also showed some flair for the highlight reel during the Rockets' surprising postseason run (well, not surprising to me -- I had them in the Finals losing to the Celtics, before the season). And not to mention, he's gotten a semi-grip on himself. No more applying for jobs at Circuit City, no more requesting time off to promote rap albums, no more dumb quotes like the "my favorite saying is 'I will s*** on you'" controversy in DIME, and best of all, no more inciting riots. He's always been good about quotes, and smiles. Now, he's molded his personality that blends in with Hollywood.

Houston Rockets: Busting out the duct tape
With Yao's career in jeopardy and Tracy McGrady entering the final year of his contract, the Rockets are bracing themselves for impact (no pun intended). They lost their best defensive player in Artest, so they picked up the Laker that killed them the most (Trevor Ariza). Not a bad move, but also a move out of necessity. If Yao really does have to call it a career, that changes the team's dynamic on so many levels.