EXTREME MAKEOVER RASHEED WALLACE UNDERGOES DRASTIC IMAGE CHANGE IN DETROIT.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - There was the meteorological explanation for why a sudden storm struck this area north of Detroit on Monday afternoon, bringing several minutes of thunder, lightning and heavy rain.

Then there was the alternate answer as to why the heavens opened: Rasheed Wallace, the NBA's self-proclaimed Public Enemy No. 1, was asked after practice what winning a championship would mean to his legacy.

``It would definitely add to it,'' Wallace said. ``But I think the biggest thing they'll remember is just my overall attitude. You know, the love for the game, the tenaciousness.''

Forgetting, of course, the racial epithets, the technical fouls, the fines, the suspensions, the marijuana possession arrest. But now Wallace is on the brink of a remarkable transformation with the Detroit Pistons one victory from the NBA title.

So much has changed in such a short time that it is hard to remember what Wallace said during a December interview with the Oregonian newspaper, while he was a member of the Portland Trail Blazers:

``I ain't no dumbass n----- out here,'' Wallace said. ``I'm not like a whole bunch of these young boys out here who get caught up and captivated into the league.

``No. I see behind the lines. I see behind the false screens. I know what this business is all about. I know the commissioner of this league makes more than three-quarters of the players in this league.''

To which commissioner David Stern responded by saying Wallace's ``hateful diatribe was ignorant and offensive to all NBA players. I refuse to enhance his heightened sense of deprivation by publicly debating with him.''

Now imagine Stern sharing the stage with Wallace tonight as he hands the Pistons the Larry O'Brien championship trophy. Detroit needs only to beat the Lakers in Game 5 at The Palace to make it happen.

It would cap one of the most unusual seasons for a player in history, one that saw Wallace go from Portland to Atlanta to Detroit in a span of days at the February trade deadline.

He started the season as the personification of everything wrong with the Trail Blazers. But he wrapped up what could be his last practice of the season Monday by playing with some of his teammates' children.

Wallace holds the single-season NBA record for technical fouls (41) and was suspended seven games in January 2003 for confronting a referee after a game. But Pistons general manager Joe Dumars credits Wallace with his team being close to winning its first championship since 1990.

``I think it takes everybody coming together but you also need a final piece sometimes,'' Dumars said of Wallace. ``He's just been the final part in helping us come together and being at this point.''

Winning also has a way of casting a new light on one's image. And Wallace presently is the NBA's version of ``The Swan.''

``He plays the game with a lot of emotion and sometimes his emotion gets the best of him,'' Corliss Williamson said. ``I think if you really know Rasheed and get to sit down and have the chance to talk with him, he cares a lot about the game and cares a lot about his teammates and winning.''

The most telling assessment about Wallace - who was cited for misdemeanor marijuana possession with Damon Stoudemire in December 2002 - and his past problems might have come Monday from Pistons forward Darvin Ham.

``He's a chameleon,'' Ham said. ``He blends in with his environment. If he's got a bunch of knuckleheads around him, he's going to look like one.

``But he comes here, you've got a lot of guys who are low-key and professional, do their jobs every day, and he blended right in with us.''

Wallace has been Detroit's difference-maker since he arrived after the All-Star break. The Pistons finished the regular-season 20-6 with Wallace in the lineup, setting an NBA record by holding teams to fewer than 70 points in five consecutive games.

``I guess it was the defensive connection,'' said Wallace, who will turn 30 in September. ``They were defensive-oriented and I was the same way, always been like that. It was a good deal when Joe brought me out here. Can't be mad at that.''

It also was Wallace who guaranteed victory for Detroit in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals with Indiana, setting the series' tone. Wallace is a career 16 points-per-game scorer but he has sacrificed both shots and points since joining the Pistons.

With Karl Malone sitting out the final 19 minutes of Game 4, however, Wallace put up his best numbers of the playoffs (26 points and 13 rebounds). He also was able to stray far from Slava Medvedenko to help Tayshaun Prince on defense against Kobe Bryant.

After once repeating nothing but ``It was a great game. Both teams played hard'' to reporters during last season's playoffs - and drawing a $30,000 fine from the league - Wallace has been amusing at times in these Finals.

On the question of what to expect from the Detroit crowd tonight: ``If it get any wilder than it did (Sunday) night, you might have to break out the National Guard or something.''

On the question of what he thought when the Lakers signed Malone and Gary Payton last summer: ``I'm not going to share my reaction to that because it was too profane.''

Wallace also could be the one opponent who took part in the beginning and end of the Lakers' dynasty. He missed six shots down the stretch as the Lakers stormed back from 15 points down to win Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference finals and, eventually, their first of three championships.

It remains a subject Wallace is not eager to revisit.

``Matter of fact,'' Wallace said Saturday, ``I ain't going to answer that for the simple fact I'm pretty ticked off with everybody asking me about that question all the time. Portland is over and done with. Right now I'm just focusing on Detroit and (Sunday).''

Wallace is eligible to leave Detroit as a free agent this summer, having made nearly $17 million as the NBA's fourth-highest-paid player this season. If he does, it could be with a championship ring and a changed image, all in the span of four months.

``People are still going to say stuff about him,'' Williamson said. ``People still don't like some of the things that went on when he was in Portland.

``Hopefully in the end, they'll see that that's a guy who really cares about his team and really cares about the game of basketball.''

Ross Siler, [phone]

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com

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Rasheed Wallace has gone from troubles in Portland to the ranks of solid citizens in Detroit this season. Now he's also on the brink of an NBA championship.

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press