Rasheed Wallace is a Detroit Piston once again, but this time he’ll be suiting up for the squad in just that — a suit — instead of a red, white and blue jersey.
Wallace has signed a two-year deal to work as an assistant coach on Maurice Cheeks‘ staff, The Detroit News reports. Wallace will mainly assist in the development of the Pistons’ big men, which include Greg Monroe, Andre Drummond, rookie Tony Mitchell and the newly acquired Josh Smith.
The 38-year-old was a member of the Detroit Pistons for six seasons, leading the team to two Eastern Conference titles and one NBA championship. Although he has never been able to communicate well with the refs — he is currently the NBA’s all-time leader in player technical fouls with over 300 — he is known to be one of the NBA’s brighter minds and was lauded for mentoring a young Jermaine O’Neal and Zach Randolph into All-Star caliber players during his days with the Portland Trail Blazers.
“Sheed,” as he is known in the basketball community, is coming off an injury-riddled season with the New York Knicks that saw him play in only 21 contests. Although he was able to contribute when healthy — averaging seven points and four rebounds in 14 minutes per game — a stress fracture in his foot ultimately led to his season ending prematurely.
