Thanks go out to Need4Sheed reader Dominic Mirabella who made my day with his post on my Facebook page.

Dominic Mirabella: “Funny story… this was the tagline of my buddy’s Facebook status at 9 AM this morning. Thought your follower’s would get a kick out of it”

Steve Schaefer:

“…just ate breakfast at a coney island with 2 police officers, 3 regulars, and Rasheed Wallace…now that’s a morning crew. Rasheed was whistling to “Everybody Wang Chung Tonight” on the radio…unreal.”

And that’s what we will miss….SHEEDTastic!

This had to be done…

And don’t think I won’t be sporting this T-Shirt the first time Boston comes into the Palace.

You can get one HERE.

And as a Bonus!!!! I’m going to give one of these away. All you have to do to win is Follow me on Twitter and Tweet this exact phrase (you can copy and paste it).

No Need4Sheed in the D T-Shirt #need4sheed @Need4Sheed_com Reppin the D Regardless of Sheed

I will be picking the winner next week, so get to tweeting!

It’s Official, The Pistons Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon are Detroit Pistons.

And Dyess is officially off to get his Ice in San Antonio and I wish him the best.

Calling all Pistons fans, (and Need4Sheed fans for that matter) I will be Live on air from 9 P.M EST to about 10 with Celtics Blog RedsArmy on their BlogTalkRadio Call in Show The Two Man Game.

Don’t think I’m switching sides, I will be there to talk Sheed and REP the D!

Tune in and call in, I may need you to get my back.

When they asked me to be on the show I told them I am who I am and that I would bitch slap Robert Parish to get my point across if I had to.  And if they even mention Scalabrine I’m hanging up without notice.

It should be SHEEDtastic!

• Kuester rundown from Matt Watson at Fanhouse.
• Kuester to run the place - Kelly Dwyer’s take.
• Kuester has a history with The Pistons.
• Will Dumars give Kuester a chance?
• The Ties that Bind Larry Brown to John Kuester and Everything.
• A Cleveland take after scooping up their assistant coach and the signings of Ben and CV.

And just so you know…I’m heading off to the Palace for the Villanueva/Gordon presser…video camera in tow.

Presser cancelled for today…probably tomorrow, my guess is they are waiting for the Kuester deal to be locked up and have one big party for them all. I will keep you posted…and FYI if you follow me on Twitter you will know my plans.

Via Chris Mannix, SI.com

“The Detroit Pistons have agreed to terms with Cavaliers assistant coach John Kuester to be their new head coach, a source with knowledge of the negotiations told SI.com.”

From NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo Sports

“The Detroit Pistons are no longer considering Avery Johnson for their head-coaching position after the two sides could not come to terms on a contract, an NBA source with knowledge of the talks said Tuesday morning.

The source said Cleveland Cavaliers assistant John Kuester is now the favorite to get the job, but

Boston Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau remains under serious consideration.”

The Issue:

Avery wanted a little a longer contract from a team that goes trough coach like Sheed get techs.

Little upset about it, my Avery Johnson impression is stellar.

Personally if they are going to go with someone with no NBA head coaching experience I would rather see Laimbeer helm.

From the Joe Dumars via DetNews

“Where we are right now as a team is kind of like where we were at the start of the Rick Carlisle era,” Dumars said. “And a $4 to $5 million (a year) coach is not what we need right now. We didn’t have one of those until we were close to contending for a championship when we got Larry (Brown).”

I’ll start off this post by telling you that Rasheed Wallace has agreed to play for the Boston Celtics.  According the Boston Herald the contract is for 2 years at the midlevel exemption of $5.8 million.

Photo/Getty Images

Nothing shocking, it was only a matter of time before one of the teams that were wooing him got what they wanted, but to most of us here in Detroit, having Sheed in a Celtics uniform is not easy.

“The Enemy” to some.

“Traitor” to others.

Some will even give you the obligatory “You can launch your three’s and not play in the paint for another team, thanks for mailing in the last season Sheed.”

But to most Pistons fans we are thankful to him for putting our team over the top in 2004, allowing us a Championship we wont’ soon forget.

Rasheed Wallace is not a Detroit Piston anymore, and to be honest…..I’m surprised he made it this far.

After each season when the dominant Pistons got ousted from the Playoffs everyone called for his head. But how do you give up on a player that can dominate a game the way he can?

The man can be SHEEDtastic at the drop of a hat.

He can make the impossible seem possible.

He’s a Joker!

He’s very tricky..

But he also comes with hair pulling frustration.

I cant count the number of times I sat in my seat at the Palace hoping no one was paying attention to me as I was talking to Sheed from my seat while he was busy arguing on the floor. “Don’t do it Sheed, your going to get another Tech and get tossed, that will be 16 and I don’t think Joe D will be able to get that rescinded. We need you, you’ll be suspended. STOP!!!!”

I may not have lost sleep, but it eats at you when you have so much invested in a team.

That I won’t miss.

I will miss his Sheedisms, his dominance and the fact he made the team fun to watch in more ways than one.

The dancing was a sight in itself too.

He may work well with Boston playing a smaller roll since he NEVER wanted to be “the guy” when he clearly had the talent to be put into the category of one of the best Power Forwards in the game. He’s even got a special relationship with Kevin Garnett going in.

One thing that’s funny to me is all the Boston love for a guy that was the enemy of all enemy’s to Celtic fans.

As for Celtics and their fans…. I come in peace here, but I have been pushed over the edge way too many times by Celtics fans, I do however respect and enjoy some of the many Celtics blogs out there, so when Loy’s Place shot me an email asking me to answer a few questions for them I was just fine…until they ended the email with this…

Thanks!  And welcome to the Celtics family!!!

On to the next part of this post.

I will never ever, ever never be a Celtics fan and I take offense to the mere thought of being a part of that family, because I am not.

I will (until I stop breathing) bleed the red, white and Piston blue, that is one thing you can put your money on.

I will NOT change this website nor my allegiance to the Detroit Pistons.

As you can see from the new addendum to the banner on the site, I rep the “D” regardless of Sheed.

If you followed this site from it’s inception I have stated that fact on more than one occasion. I have be asked the question hundreds of times….”What will you do when Sheed is gone?”

I will do this, nothing changes.

“Will you change the name?”….as of right now, no.

You see, this site was never supposed to be.  I started it as a lazy way to share my cartoon screensaver to my friends across the country. You see even when you leave the “D” you still represent it.  So as a way share my wallpapers, screensavers and videos (pre YouTube days) this website became more than I ever envisioned it to be.

Now….I’m Need4Sheed.

Funny, but I can’t change it. It may be a name to all of you, but it’s almost part of my identity at this point. When you get introduced as Natalie of Need4Sheed instead of your last name things change.

You see, it never really was about Rasheed. Sure there is plenty of Sheed here, he brings a lot to any team, but it is and always will be about the love of the Detroit Pistons.

So Sheed is gone, we all knew it was going to happen at some point. I wish him luck, but I can’t say I will be rooting Boston, but I will be rooting for him.

This is Need4Sheed where we represent the Detroit Pistons..thank you for your time Mr. Wallace and thank you for allowing me to hold this in my hands.

Onwards and upwards….DEEETROIT BASKETBALL.

“Virginia Tech head coach Seth Greenberg posted on his Twitter account that former Hokies standout Deron Washington has signed a guaranteed contract with the Detroit Pistons, who selected him 59th overall (second round) in the 2008 NBA draft.” Via Daily Press.com

Now there is more….. Our guru Dave Dial gives us the juice.

“Moves like that(signing players like Washington to guaranteed contracts) are often made when one team has to send back a certain amount of money back in a trade. For example, if Detroit is $4 million under the cap after signing Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva and were to get involved with the Hornets in a trade for Tyson Chandler, the Pistons would have to send back a certain amount of salaries in order to make it work.

Chandler makes $12.2 million dollars, and the Pistons might be $4 million under the cap so a straight salary dump couldn’t work. Stay tuned…

{Update: I’ve been informed that there is a 30 day waiting period when you sign a second-round pick before that player can be traded.}”

Detroit Bad Boys adds even more….suggesting Rip could be on his way out.

Now with the quickness in which this is all happening a girls’ head is spinning. I can’t even sleep without waking up to some rumors or possible trades.  I have been locked to Twitter for the past few days to send out the info as quickly as I get it no matter where I am, so do some following.

Doug Collins told ESPN.com late Wednesday night that he talked to Pistons president  Joe Dumars and thanked him for the consideration, but would remain an analyst for TNT.

That leaves Avery Johnson as the front runner.

“I had a great talk with Joe (Dumars) and I appreciate being considered for the job, but I’ve decided to take my name out of the running,” said Collins late Wednesday night. “I am honored to have been given the opportunity. I have great affection for the Davidson family (owner Karen and late husband William), great affection for the whole organization and for the fans in Detroit.

“At this time, however, I feel it’s best that I not pursue the job.” Via The Detroit News

UPDATE:
Avery the new coach?

Thanks to team Need4Sheed member Joshua Polaczyk for the Video find.

A little laugh goes a long way.

Joe Dumars wastes no time and seems to be weighing no other options.

The AP is reporting

“Villanueva, the seventh overall pick by Toronto in 2006 who has played all three of his NBA season with the Milwaukee Bucks, also agreed to a five-year deal. His contract is worth at least $35 million.”

UPDATE: Pistons.com has it as front page news now.

David Aldridge weighs in at NBA.com.

And I’m not happy about it….
Via Adrian Wojnarowski the man who seems to know all at  YahooSports.com

“The Detroit Pistons have reached agreement with free-agent guard Ben Gordon(notes) on a five-year contract worth around $55 million, a source with knowledge of the talks told Yahoo! Sports Wednesday evening.

The Pistons are continuing to negotiate with forward Charlie Villanueva(notes).

July 8 is the first day free agents can sign contracts.

Gordon and Villanueva, who played together for a year at UConn, traveled to Detroit on Wednesday morning to meet with Detroit president Joe Dumars.”

Over 11 million dollars a year for Gordon….say it ain’t so Joe.

And, if you follow me on Twitter you know…I’m not cartooning Ben Gordon until I find out his contract is under 11 mill. NO TOON FOR YOU!!!!

UPDATE from Dave Dial at MLive

“A 5-year $55 million dollar contract is what Ben Gordon was reported to be looking for, and the starting salary for that deal would by just under $9.5 million. The Pistons have been reported to have $20 million in cap space, so will still have around $10.5 million to spend on other free agents. If Charlie Villanueva agree to a contract starting at around the $7 million dollar range, Dumars will have a little cap space left over to initiate a salary cap trade or to sign a lower level free agent.”