Need for ’Sheed

Celtics’ latest signing legitimizes championship hopes

 

“We are ecstatic to be able to add a player the caliber of Rasheed Wallace to our team. It is not every day that you can add a four-time All-Star and a player with championship experience.”  Celtics GM Danny Ainge

 

Now that the Celtics have signed Rasheed Wallace, they can lay claim to some serious smack: They’ve got the baddest collection of big men in the NBA.

Wallace, a temperamental 6-foot-11 enforcer with a mean streak that could make Clint Eastwood blush, joins the front line with Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins.

The trio — a “Big Three” in a more literal sense — is made up of some of the best defensive players in the league, a vital trait for a team with championship aspirations.

By signing Wallace to a reported two-year contract, the Celtics fulfilled their most dire offseason needs in one fell swoop. In Wallace, they get a big man, a scorer and a valuable presence off the bench with one world title on his résumé.

“We are ecstatic to be able to add a player the caliber of Rasheed Wallace to our team,” Celtics GM Danny Ainge said in a statement.  “It is not every day that you can add a four-time All-Star and a player with championship experience.”

Wallace, who turns 35 in September, has made headlines for his ability to pick up technical fouls and draw fines for expletive-laced tirades toward officials, but he adds an intimidation factor to a team that loves getting under opponents’ skin.

He is also a good friend of Garnett — they even have similar playing styles — a factor that helped the Celtics land the heavily courted free agent. That chemistry will certainly help the pair thrive on the court, where they’re trying to regain their form as the best in the world.