Blazers Ex Rasheed Wallace Not Joining Lakers Coaching Staff

Former Portland Trail Blazers All-Star Rasheed Wallace was rumored to join the Los Angeles Lakers coaching staff last month, but that doesn’t appear to be the plan anymore.

According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, negotiations between Wallace and the Lakers have ended in no deal to join the coaching staff.

Wallace and new Lakers coach Darvin Ham were both teammates on the Detroit Pistons for two seasons and part of Detroit’s 2004 title team — a team which included Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups as starting point guard.

Wallace worked last season as an assistant coach on Penny Hardaway’s staff at the University of Memphis.

The four-time NBA All-Star played 16 seasons in the NBA, including eight in Portland from 1996 to 2003. With Wallace playing an integral role, the Blazers made back-to-back Western Conference Finals appearances in 1999 and 2000. Wallace’s 9,119 points scored in Portland places him at No. 11 on the Blazers’ all-time scoring list.