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Rasheed Wallace mulling over NBA return

Rasheed Wallace averaged 9.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game for the Celtics during the 2009-10 season

Rasheed Wallace is contemplating a comeback to the NBA, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Wallace, who retired after 15 seasons in 2010, has been working out and probing some close league friends about possible destinations to sign for the rest of the season, sources said.

At 6-foot-11, Wallace, 37, had been one of the most versatile and talented power forwards of his era. One league source who has talked with Wallace recently describes him as "serious" about a return to the NBA this season. Nevertheless, no teams contacted by Yahoo! Sports reported that they had any contact with Wallace, or his representative.

When reached on Friday, Wallace's agent, Bill Strickland, would only tell Yahoo! Sports' Marc Spears: "As a veteran player, [Wallace] knows what it takes to be reinstated."

Wallace holds appeal for several contending teams, but all wonder about his shape and conditioning after sitting out 18 months. Wallace played 79 regular season games for the Celtics in his final year, but the organization never felt he truly got into playing shape until the playoff run to the NBA Finals in 2010. In a limited role, several GMs told Yahoo! they still believe his scoring and defending ability would probably be better than anyone else available to them.

One NBA GM with potential interest in signing Wallace said, "I'd be worried about his conditioning in a condensed season."

In his 15 seasons with Washington, Portland, Atlanta, Detroit and Boston, Wallace averaged 14.6 points and 6.7 rebounds.

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