Wallace agrees to sign with Celtics

By Chris Mannix, SI.com

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Rasheed Wallace averaged 12 points and 7.4 rebounds per game last season in Detroit. AP

BOSTON -- Free agent forward Rasheed Wallace has agreed to sign with the Boston Celtics, Wallace's agent, Bill Strickland, told SI.com on Sunday. Wallace, who chose the Celtics over San Antonio and Orlando, is believed to have agreed to a two-year deal for Boston's mid-level exception.

A 14-year NBA veteran, Wallace averaged 12.0 points and 7.4 rebounds with the Detroit Pistons last season.

A contingent from the Celtics organization -- including owner Wyc Grousbeck, President Danny Ainge, head coach Doc Rivers and All-Stars Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen -- descended on Wallace's suburban Michigan home on Thursday for a three-hour meeting.

"Solid, thorough, cogent and very impressive," Wallace's agent, Bill Strickland, told SI.com about Boston's recruiting trip. "[They] definitely gave Rasheed and his wife something to think about."

Wallace played the last six seasons with the Detroit Pistons, where he won an NBA championship in 2004. He heads to a Celtics team loaded with veterans such as Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, and hoping to make at least one more title run.

Wallace has averaged 15 points and 6.9 rebounds in 14 NBA seasons. He averaged 12 points and 7.4 rebounds last season.