Rasheed Wallace has decided to retire from the NBA once again. Wallace, who signed with the New York Knicks at the start of he season, returned from a foot injury Monday night against the Charlotte Bobcats and still felt sore.He still hasn't been able to recover from the injury that was suffered in December and wouldn't be healthy enough to join the Knicks in the playoffs. Wallace had played surprisingly well after a two-year layoff and was a key part to the Knicks' strong start.
Coach Mike Woodson was hoping that Wallace would be ready to join the rotation for the playoffs.
"Rasheed has given this team everything he had," Woodson said in a statement provided by the team. "He is a winner, true professional and leader on and off the court. Due to his injury, he will not be available to play for us during the playoffs."
It's a damaging blow for the Knicks, who loaded up on veteran big men this season but have now lost two of them for good in Kurt Thomas and now Wallace. They have gotten almost nothing from Marcus Camby. Also, Amar'e Stoudemire's status for the postseason is unclear as he recovers from right knee surgery. T
he Knicks added another big man Wednesday by signing Earl Barron. They've also signed Solomon Jones recently and currently have Kenyon Martin on the roster.
As for Wallace, the 38-year-old retires with 16,006 points (14.4 PPG) and 7,404 rebounds (6.7 RPG) for his 15-year career. He averaged seven points and four rebounds per game in 21 games with New York this season.
