By Richard Justice
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 29, 1995

After another day of sorting through all sorts of trade offers, the Washington Bullets held on to their highest selection in 18 years and used it on North Carolina's multi-talented Rasheed Wallace, a versatile 6-foot-10 1/2 shot-blocker who can play either forward spot and perhaps some center as well.

He joins a franchise that already has a young, talented front line, and under pressure to win next season, the Bullets believe Wallace will fit nicely with Chris Webber and Juwan Howard.

Wallace turned out to be their only acquisition. General Manager John Nash had already traded one of his two second-round draft picks to the Los Angeles Lakers. He used the other on Texas guard Terrence Rencher, then packaged him with veteran Rex Chapman and sent the two of them to the Miami Heat for the rights to Ed Stokes and Jeff Webster -- a pair of players who likely will never play for the Bullets. Both were picked in previous drafts and may not be offered contracts.

The Bullets have attempted to dump Chapman and his $2 million salary since the end of the season. Two weeks ago, he threatened not to report to Portland if traded there, claiming that he has a contract extension on the table that he plans to sign once the NBA's signing moratorium ends. The Bullets deny an offer was extended as Chapman says.

"We realize that salary cap room is going to be important," Nash said. "We now have the room to be very aggressive in the free agent market. Rex lost his job to Calbert Cheaney. We needed the room to pursue a point guard in free agency or via a trade."

Before picking Wallace, Nash held trade discussions with several teams, most notably Portland about veteran point guard Rod Strickland, right up until the start of the draft. In the end, he rejected them and then waited nervously to see if the No. 2-ranked player on Washington's board -- Jerry Stackhouse was first -- would slip to them. After Joe Smith, Antonio McDyess and Stackhouse became the first three picks, Nash quickly used the fourth selection on Wallace.

"He's going to be a great addition to our front line," Nash said. "Things are looking up. He's a big-time talent. He's going to be a terrific transition player, a good outlet passer and decent interior passer. He'll complement Chris Webber and Juwan Howard."

Wallace is just 20 years old but showed flashes of brilliance during his two seasons at North Carolina. In a recent personal workout, the Bullets were blown away by his passing skills and outside shooting.

"I couldn't be more elated," Bullets Coach Jim Lynam said. "Last year, we stood here and said we felt we got a real solid guy in Juwan Howard. I'll stand here and say equally strong things on the behalf of Rasheed. He's a special, special talent."

His selection came at the end of a tense day in which Nash spent hours on the phone listening to offers and making a few of his own. The top of the draft board was so fluid that the Bullets didn't know who the top three picks would be until they watched the draft unfold on television. They would have happily settled for any of the top four players, but because Wallace is a bit bigger and -- should he put more weight upon his current 233 pounds -- has more of a chance to play center at some point in his career, the Bullets favored him over everyone except Stackhouse.

"I didn't expect to be picked by the Bullets, but any of the four sophomores could have gone anywhere," Wallace said. "I'm glad it turned out this way."

Wallace made it clear last night that he considers himself a power forward. Webber feels the same way about playing center, which will give Lynam an interesting challenge in making everyone happy.

"It all depends on what Coach Lynam wants -- three {small forward}, four {power forward} or five {center}," Wallace said. "I don't think I'm ready to play that five spot right now. I see myself playing the four. You never know what Coach Lynam has in mind for us."

Wallace has known Lynam, the former Philadelphia 76ers' coach, since he spoke to him at a summer camp he attended during his high school days in Philadelphia, and he has also spent some time with Howard. He has met Webber once.

Nash will now turn his attention to the guard position once the NBA labor situation for the 1995-96 season is determined. Philadelphia's Dana Barros -- a so-so playmaker, but a terrific three-point shooter -- is his top choice, but the Bullets have also grown fond of another unrestricted free agent: Phoenix's Elliot Perry.

"I'm not trying to cure all our needs today," Nash said. "It's a long summer. We were more concerned with making the right move than the quickest move."

In his brief career at North Carolina, Wallace established himself as the leading field goal percentage shooter in ACC history (64 percent). He set a Tar Heels record by blocking 93 shots last season, and in a prominent head-to-head matchup with Smith and Maryland late in the season, scored 33 points and went 13 for 19 from the field.

He was USA Today's High School Player of the Year when he graduated from Philadelphia's Simon Gratz High School in 1993, and stepped right in and became a contributor at one of the nation's best programs.

The only knock has been a lack of maturity, which is probably to be expected for someone who is still 10 weeks away from his 21st birthday.

"I'm not a bad person," said Wallace. "I don't have that type attitude. The person who started that rumor doesn't know me."

Wallace, who is Washington's highest draft choice since using the fourth pick of 1977 on Greg Ballard, obviously needs to mature physically to deal with the night-to-night pounding he'll get in the NBA, but on Tuesday he said: "If I didn't think I was ready, I'd have stayed in school.