The 5 greatest NBA trade deadline deals ever
By Adam McGee
3. Rasheed Wallace, Mike James to the Pistons; Chucky Atkins, Lindsey Hunter to the Celtics; Bob Sura, Zeljko Rebraca, Chris Mills to the Hawks
As the NBA trade deadline approached in the 2003-04 season, the Detroit Pistons knew they had something good. Unfortunately, they also knew that it likely wasn’t good enough.
The Pistons were third in the East, behind a New Jersey Nets team that had swept them in the Conference Finals in the previous year, and an Indiana Pacers team that was on a roll at the top of the standings.
A team anchored by the defensive prowess of Ben Wallace and the guile of Chauncey Billups, if there was perhaps one element that the Pistons lacked, it was the kind of personality and attitude that had spurred the franchise on to its greatest moments in the past.
When the opportunity to trade for Rasheed Wallace arose, Detroit had an avenue to add an All-Star big with a different energy. It represented a risk to chemistry as Wallace, who had just been traded to the Hawks, had played most of his recent basketball on the infamous Portland “Jail Blazers” team.
In reality, Wallace’s move to Detroit couldn’t have turned out any better. Paired alongside Ben Wallace, the Pistons further fortified an already stout defense, while also adding an extra wrinkle offensively with their new power forward’s ability to space the floor.
With Wallace on the front line, the Pistons defeated the Lakers in five games to win the championship in 2004. A year later they’d again return to the Finals, only to fall to the San Antonio Spurs in seven games.
On the whole, in six seasons in Detroit, Rasheed Wallace’s Pistons only failed to reach at least the Conference Finals on one occasion.