Other July 4th Nuggets: Sheed’s Future, The Great Wall of Turkey (UPDATE)

Posted by Zach Lowe on Jul 4, 2010 904623 commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F2010%2F07%2F04%2Fother-july-4th-nuggets-sheeds-future-the-great-wall-of-turkey%2FOther+July+4th+Nuggets%3A+Sheed%27s+Future%2C+The+Great+Wall+of+Turkey+%28UPDATE%292010-07-04+15%3A38%3A35Zach+Lowehttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F%3Fp%3D9046

I’m headed to the burbs to visit the family, so I don’t have time to give these items the attention they deserve. But here they are:

• David Aldridge is reporting at NBA.com that Rasheed Wallace is reconsidering his decision to retire:

With Doc Rivers deciding to return to the Celtics next season, and Boston close to re-signing Paul Pierce to a four-year deal, a source said Saturday night that there is a “possibility” that veteran forward Rasheed Wallace could re-think his decision last month to retire after 15 NBA seasons. The Celtics believed Wallace would retire after the team’s seven-game Finals loss to the Lakers, and he appeared to make the decision final a week or so later.

I won’t mince words: This would be a bad thing for the Celtics.

His performance in Game 7 aside, all of the evidence we have suggests that Rasheed Wallace is close to washed up. None of that evidence suggests he would show up in shape next season if he does decide to continue with Boston. And while his performance in the post-season was better than his work in the regular season, it was not as good as people think. His PER was an awful 10.4, he made fewer than one three-pointer per game and his defense was solid in the post but very shaky on the screen/roll. 

His value now lies in his contract, not his play. 

• The Celtics are on the verge of signing Semih Erden, the 7-footer from Turkey the team selected in the second round in 2008. Erden is 24 now, and the C’s will sign him to a minimum deal, the Herald says:

The Celts are in the process of signing the 7-footer to a one-year deal with an option for a second season.

And:

“Semih is a very aggressive 7-foot kid that has good pro experience,” general manager Danny Ainge said. “He’s played well the last couple of years for Fenerbahce. They were the Turkish national champions this year. He’ll play a significant role for the Turkish national team this year in the world championships in Istanbul.

“We watched him play this year, and the game over there is so different than ours, so there will be an adjustment. It’s just a slower game. They don’t have the athletes over there than you do over here, so it’s always unpredictable to know how it translates with different players. But we like his aggressiveness. We like his size, his intensity.”

The Celtics need length. Erden will likely start off in the D-League. Hopefully he can contribute at some point. The C’s need all the big bodies they can get.

Update: Tom Ziller gives us a bit more info on Erden on FanHouse:

Erden has played for Turkish league powerhouse Fenerbahce since 2005. He’s never averaged so much as 20 minutes a game, and last season averaged just 7.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. He played only minor minutes for the Turkish national team in the 2006 FIBA World Championships and the 2007 and 2009 Eurobasket tournaments. Turkey will host the 2010 FIBA World Championships beginning in August. Erden will be joined by fellow NBA players Hedo Turkoglu and Ersan Ilyasova on the Turkish team. Fellow center Mehmet Okur isn’t expected to be available due to injury.